Major League Baseball might have 162 games in a season, which comes out to a combined 2430 games each Summer, yet it seems like every September, there is still plenty to be played for, and that’s what makes baseball great. There is something to be said in the beauty of the simplicity of the NFL 16 week schedule, but to have 2,430 games between 30 teams and to still have great divisional and wild card races year in and year out is truly something spectacular. Thanks to the extra wild card team, there are now more teams than ever that can keep fighting the good fight through the entire season. Which certainly ups the entertainment level for the fans. More teams in the hunt equals fewer teams easing off the gas and letting the entire Triple-A roster get a shot after the September roster expansion. While there are definitely a lot of positives to the youth getting Major League experience, nothing beats seeing the big names take the field.

Without a doubt each season has it’s fair share of divisional and wild card chases through the final month and a half of the season, but only once in a while are we blessed with years like this year. Four of the six divisions are currently decided by five games or fewer (and the other two are 7.0 and 7.5 respectively), and while that can ultimately change with a few hot and cold streaks, or just one major injury, it’s not every year fans can look forward to this exhilarating of a ride through September baseball. Last season we almost saw a three-way tie for the two wild card spots, but this September, the MLB Playoff race is shaping up to be even better.

Divisional Races

AL East

Team	W	L	GB	L10
Baltimore Orioles	75	55	-	6-4
New York Yankees	68	62	7.0	7-3
Toronto Blue Jays	66	66	10.0	3-7
Tampa Bay Rays	64	68	12.0	3-7
Boston Red Sox	58	74	18.0	2-8

The AL East is typically revered as one of the best divisional races at a years conclusion; typically with the Red Sox, Yankees, and at times another name jockeying for position among the top of the division or top of the wild card. Yet 2014 has the AL East as one of the weaker battles going on in baseball currently. With the slowly worsening banged up Baltimore Orioles holding on dearly for the division lead while the Yankees try to rally down the stretch. Toronto has seemed to all but implode on itself and will be lucky to vie for a wild card spot at this point. It seems at this point a matter of if the Orioles can hold off the Yankees.

The Orioles and Yankees meet eight times in September, beginning with a four-game series on September 12th that begins a 10-game homestand for the Orioles, before meeting again in New York on September 22nd with it all concluding on the 25th.

As it is with most schedules, September is littered with division series, which makes it the breaking point for teams trying to close ground. Typically this could go as a disadvantage for the Orioles and the typically tough AL East, but the way the division is playing, and with six games against the cellar dwelling Red Sox, Baltimore has the easiest path holding onto their lead. The keys to holding on being health and good showings against the Yankees. Baltimore can just hope that the Sox don’t extract some revenge for 2011.

AL Central

Team	W	L	GB	L10
Kansas City Royals	73	58	-	6-4
Detroit Tigers	71	59	1.5	6-4
Cleveland Indians	67	63	5.5	7-3
Chicago White Sox	59	72	14.0	2-8
Minnesota Twins	58	73	15.0	3-7

When the Detroit Tigers made a last-minute move to acquire David Price from the Rays as the trade deadline was expiring was there anybody in the world that thought a month later the Royals -who stood pat at the deadline mind you- would be in control of the division? Not many would have assumed so, and I would question the legitimacy of any who came forward and said otherwise. The Tigers were scary good to begin with, with a starting rotation that featured Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, adding David Price to the mix quickly sky rocketed the Tigers up the baseball pundits lists of who was going to win it all in October. The Royals, with a quietly efficient starting rotation of their own, featuring James Shields and Jeremy Guthrie, have lost only six games in August so far.

Both teams have interesting paths to the finale of the season, and the excitement of fireworks doesn’t quite do what we should see from these two battling for the division through the final month justice. The two meet six more times, splitting a home and away series, but outside of that the schedules differ mightily.

Detroit still has a three-game home series against the Giants, who are still in the race for the NL West and holding onto the wild card. Those will surely come with no ease. They began a three game series with the red-hot Yankees last night, winning 5-2. Going in their favor is seven more games against the Twins, who are playing for nothing more than a spoiler role. They claimed Chad Qualls off revocable waivers today in hope to solidify the identity crisis they’ve had closing out games this season, but we’ll see if a deal can actually be worked out to bring him on, they certainly need the late inning help. Good news can be followed by bad though as Annibal Sanchez may likely officially be done for the year.

The Royals on the other hand have a slightly easier path, with series against the struggling Twins, Rangers, and Red Sox to look forward to. Six games against Cleveland who could potentially be making a push for the wild card, and six games against the White Sox who’s solid pitching and hot and cold bats can spell trouble at times. Alex Gordon hit a walkoff HR last night against the Twins, just showing the level of fight within this team. It will be no easy task brushing these guys aside through September.

The Tigers without a doubt have the firepower on paper to take over the division, but that hasn’t stopped the Royals from being where they are right now.

AL West

Team	W	L	GB	L10
LA Angels	78	53	-	6-4
Oakland A’s	77	54	1.0	4-6
Seattle Mariners	72	59	6.0	6-4
Houston Astros	56	77	23.0	5-5
Texas Rangers	51	80	27.0	4-6

The AL West has been one of the more awesome divisional fights to watch this year. The A’s staying steady from their form that carried them to the ALDS a season ago, while the Angels finally found their identity with all those expensive contracts on the books. Watching these two teams do battle is like watching a couple of heavyweights go haymaker for haymaker without personal regard for health. Speaking of health, it might be the biggest factor in determining who ends up walking out on top of this division.

The AL West could ultimately become a three-horse race for the division title, but with how far the Angels and A’s have placed themselves ahead of the Mariners, it would have to take two meltdowns through September for Seattle to jump on top, even with how spectacular they’ve played over the last month. But it’s looking highly likely that we’ll see two wild card teams emerge from the west this year.

The two top dogs in the west will certainly keep late night baseball watchers across the country entertained in their back and forth leap-frog game for the division lead. The two teams just wrapped a three-game series in Oakland over the weekend, where the Angels took two of three. These two still have seven more games between each other, starting with a four-game series in Anaheim this weekend. They meet for a final time in Oakland starting on September 22nd for a three-game series.

As mentioned before, health plays a big factor in who can emerge as winners here. The Angels were dealt a massive blow by losing the best pitcher in their rotation this season, Garrett Richards, to a torn Patellar tendon. Their stars have been healthy for most of the season, but we’ve seen this lineup have health concerns and it’s always spelled trouble when somebody goes down. And with how close the division is, it’s not like they’re going to have abundant opportunity to rest their starters.

Oakland has been dealing with a growing list of injuries. Jed Lowrie, John Jaso, Sean Doolittle and Nick Punto have left the A’s reeling for depth. Bill Beane seems to have gone all in on a rare move to seemingly finally try to push beyond the divisional series in the playoffs. Making moves to bring in Jeff Samardzija and Jon Lester at the expensive of big bat and monster armed Yoenis Cespedes. Had the Tigers not made a move to grab Price, everybody would have starting cashing in on the A’s to win it all. Things haven’t quite worked out as they hoped, as the A’s had a rough August that was a minefield of playoff contenders duking it out.

In terms of what is forward for the two top teams, they have very identical schedules in terms of difficulty. Each plays Seattle six times, and the showdowns between one another will go far in determining who is crowned the winner in this fight.

 

NL East

Team	W	L	GB	L10
Washington Nationals	75	56	-	7-3
Atlanta Braves	68	64	7.5	6-4
Miami Marlins	65	66	10.0	5-5
New York Mets	62	70	13.5	5-5
Philadelphia Phillies	60	72	15.5	6-4

The NL East as it stands currently has the most disparity between the top two teams. A month ago this picture would have looked much different, but thanks to a fairly easy August schedule, the Nationals have been able to add a lot of ground to their lead. And while 7.5 games is by no means a safe lead with a month of baseball to play (as the Braves should be more than well aware of due to personal experience in blowing such a lead), it would take a complete 180 from everything the Nationals are doing right now to happen.

The Nationals starting rotation has a combined ERA of 2.80 in August while eating up 160.2 innings. They’re burning through an easy part of the schedule, but are showing their resiliency, having won on six walkoffs alone in the month of August. Health has largely been in favor of Washington, which is a refreshing change of pace, and it will have to continue to stay that way if they’re going to hold on.

The Nationals and Braves meet six times in September splitting three-game home series for each side. Where Washington had a breezy schedule in August and the Braves labored through tough series against playoff contenders for the most part, the tables turn in September. Atlanta definitely has the easier final month with two series against the Phillies, a three-game stint with the Rangers, and three against the Mets. They also play Pitt four times and Miami three times, and both of those teams are fighting for playoff seeding. The Nats end August in Seattle before headed down to LA to kick off September against the Dodgers. They see Philly only one more time (although are currently in the midst of a series with them) and see the Marlins six times, but also the Mets seven.

This division race should get a lot more interesting through the next month, which will make those six-games crucial to who wins the division. Atlanta currently has bested the Nats for a record of 9-4.

NL Central

Team	W	L	GB	L10
Milwaukee Brewers	73	59	-	6-4
St. Louis Cardinals	71	60	1.5	6-4
Pittsburgh Pirates	68	64	5.0	4-6
Cincinnati Reds	63	69	10.0	2-8
Chicago Cubs	59	72	13.5	7-3

The NL Central isn’t quite as exhilarating as it was a year ago where three teams were fighting for the top of the division down the stretch. It’s not exactly super far off from being so either. The new player to the table being the Brewers who absolutely blew up this season with a combination of decent pitching and hot bats. St. Louis is again threatening to take the division and will keep the pressure on Milwaukee. Pittsburgh gets a huge helping hand back as Andrew McCutchen returns to the roster.

The NL Central can certainly again be that three-horse race down the stretch, but it’s dependent on Pittsburgh getting quality outings from their pitching staff and hanging in there against good teams. September is nothing more than a round robin for these teams to vie for the division against one another, but there are without a doubt easier paths than others. Pittsburgh has the easier of the roads ahead, with only three series remaining against winnings clubs. Currently wrapping up a three-game series with St. Louis, Pitt sees the Cards one final time at Busch, and Milwaukee and Atlanta for a combined seven games. They also finish the season on a seven-game roadtrip.

Next it would probably go to the Cardinals who see Pitt one more time at home, but see Milwaukee two more times for seven-games, four of which will be in Milwaukee. They have seven-games against the Cubs and Reds, and finish the year with three against the Diamondbacks. They too finish with a seven game roadtrip, but considering they visit Wrigley and Chase Field, there are certainly worse ways to end a year.

Milwaukee has probably the toughest schedule remaining. They still see the Giants in San Fran, the Cards twice, Pitt once, and Miami for three games. Also seeing Cincinnati and Chicago six times each, but considering they haven’t exactly stood out above them it’s not guaranteed series wins.

The key to success are obviously to stay healthy. Pitt cannot see another injury scare to McCutch, the Cardinals could be getting Molina (who had a rehab start yesterday) back, and the Brew Crew could get Garza back by next week.

NL West

Team	W	L	GB	L10
Los Angeles Dodgers	75	58	-	5-5
San Francisco Giants	69	62	5.0	6-4
San Diego Padres	61	70	13.0	4-6
Arizona Diamondbacks	55	77	19.5	2-8
Colorado Rockies	53	78	21.0	6-4

Last but certainly not least we have the NL West. This last month has seen the Dodgers open up a larger lead over the Giants, but 5.0 games is by no means a safe lead. There are no other contenders coming from the west, although that doesn’t mean the remaining three NL West teams can’t play spoiler to their compadres.

Like most of the other key matchups in September the Dodgers and Giants meet six more times this year. And with a 5.0 game lead in favor of LA and considering the schedule ahead, I wouldn’t necessarily say I’m conceding this races to the Dodgers, but the schedule is not at all in favor of San Fran. The Giants look forward to seeing the Brewers, Tigers, and Dodgers twice still, while the Dodgers see the Nationals and the Giants twice as their formidable foes remaining.

The Giants are clearly not thinking about that last push for the division either, making the move Monday to send struggling starter Tim Lincecum to the bullpen. Not saying keeping him in the starting rotation would have been a sign they’re ready to do battle with their southern rivals, but the move clearly shows the Giants are thinking about playoff rosters and how to maximize efficiency there. Lincecum was once a saving grace out of the bullpen in the playoffs and they’re hoping for the same to be said this time around. Currently holding onto the second wild card spot, I see the Giants next month as more of a defensive standoff to hold onto to that spot, or move a more realistic up in front of the Cardinals. Exerting the energy to try to hunt down the Dodgers just doesn’t come off as worthwhile.

Especially considering LA is just getting healthier and healthier. They should be getting Hyun-Jin Ryu by next Monday barring any further setbacks. Not to mention having just added Roberto Hernandez to their rotation, while the core of the lineup remains hot and healthy.

If the Dodgers were to collectively get injured and start to lose, that tune will likely change, but it shouldn’t be too surprising to see the Giants take a safer approach.

 

Wild Card

Already way longer winded than I expected to let this article be I almost decided to leave this portion out, but it’s too important to do so. So here it is:

AL Wild Card

Team	W	L	GB	L10
Oakland Athletics	77	54	-	4-6
Seattle Mariners	72	59	-	6-4
Detroit Tigers	71	59	0.5	6-4
New York Yankees	68	62	3.5	7-3
Cleveland Indians	67	63	4.5	7-3

At the pace this wild card race unfolds it’s insane to think at least one team that is more than deserving to go to the playoffs will end up narrowly missing a wild card spot, which puts the division races into an entire separate tier of importance for teams like Detroit and the Mariners. This whole next month each game could ultimately be the one that knocks you from October.

Thanks to how awesome the A’s and Angels have played this season the Mariners have largely been unspoken for across the major sports media platforms and that’s just wrong. En route to their first winning season since 2009, the Mariners have been awesome to watch play this year. They rallied back to put up 5 runs in the top of the 9th with 2 outs to beat the Red Sox on Friday, one of their three wins this weekend in Boston, a part of the first three-game sweep the Mariners ever had over the Red Sox in Fenway. Matched with their stellar rotation featuring King Felix and Hisashi Iwakuma, the Mariners have had one of the best bullpens in baseball. Not to mention their ability to score runs have been quite surprising.

It’ll be tough to know either one of the Mariners, Tigers, or Royals could be missing the postseason after fantastic seasons. But that just means great baseball to watch for fans.

NL Wild Card

Team	W	L	GB	L10
St. Louis Cardinals	71	60	-	6-4
San Francisco Giants	69	62	-	6-4
Atlanta Braves	68	64	1.5	6-4
Pittsburgh Pirates	68	64	1.5	4-6
Miami Marlins	65	66	4.0	5-5

The NL Wild Card race while still intoxicating, does not quite live up to the intensity of the AL currently. Yes there is added pressure on a few to make the push for the division leads to avoid the tight Wild Card race, but it’s not quite a team with a good enough record to lead five of the six divisions, and the third team from said division tightly clinging on to the wild card spots for dear life breathtaking.

The top dogs in the NL Wild Card are much less likely to be overthrown as well. The Cards and Giants are both in good positions to hold onto their spots, but we certainly can’t rule out a change to the order of things.

The one big surprise is the fact that the Marlins are even in a position to have their name in consideration for the wild card spot. A year after losing 100 games, and four months since Jose Fernandez last threw a pitch the Fish are fighting on.

 

Just over one month to go, and baseball action has never been so intense. We’re sure to have a finishing day similar to 2011 with playoff fates coming down to final outs. Buckle up and enjoy the ride. It’ll be great for baseball, but bad for many fans health.

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