Baseball season promising a big finish
Posted: Monday, August 13, 2007 4:46 PM
It's truly August. Look at the standings and the biggest division lead is four games. And who could have truly thought that the Yankees would get this hot and narrow Boston's lead. The Sox are still playing .600 ball, but the Yankees have simply been on fire.
Each division has a race and six NL teams are within three games of the wild card. A great final seven weeks of the season loom, and here are some things that I'm watching in each division:
NL WEST
Arizona leads the division. Has anyone outside the Pacific Time Zone taken note of the Diamondbacks? A great baseball story about the total rebuilding of a franchise is unfolding in the desert . This team won a World Series using tomorrow's money, much of it borrowed from MLB and the teams. Think anybody in the game was happy about that?
With an ownership change came a new philosophy and this team is to be admired. Young, talented and scrappy, they win defying the numbers (like being outscored on the season). Eric Byrnes, their spiritual leader who just signed a new deal, says the team reminds him of the A's in the Giambi/Tejada/Hudson/Mulder days. That's a great compliment.
What to watch: the kids. Can Chris Young, Conor Jackson, Stephen Drew, Mark Reynolds, and the 19-year-old Justin Upton handle August and September ball?
NL CENTRAL
The most insane baseball fact is the Cardinals are only 5 1/2 games out. Milwaukee came back to earth, and the Cubs have stumbled after their surge. So here are the Cards and as long as Albert Pujols, Jim Edmonds, and Scott Rolen are together in the lineup, they must be respected.
What to watch: Milwaukee's outstanding rookie third baseman Ryan Braun. In New York, he'd be a star already. His game-winning homer off Houston's Brad Lidge in Saturday's ninth inning (it's stunning to see Lidge still struggle) was his 22nd and he didn't join the team until May. He is hitting homers at a record rookie pace. Coming down the stretch can he carry the offense in tandem with Prince Fielder?
NL EAST
Moises Alou homered twice Sunday to help the Mets salvage one game of three from Florida. But Alou also played Saturday night. Mets manager Willie Randolph is boxed: feeling the heat of a division race, he needs Alou's bat. However, Alou's legs have repeatedly demonstrated they can't take constant play. Meanwhile, the Braves and Phillies hover, neither able to put together the win streak needed to pass the Mets, but neither going away. And the Braves own the Mets in the season series (Atlanta has won eight of twelve so far).
What to watch: Pedro Martinez. Can he give the Mets the late-season lift they seek? Carlos Beltran. Quietly, he had a monster year as the anchor of the Mets 2006 offense. With Carlos Delgado and Paul LoDuca off their norm this year, the Mets need a big finish from Beltran.
AL EAST
All credit to the Yankees. Doubters are once again silenced as the New York bats roar and they sweep the Indians (previously 37-22 at home) over the weekend. Meanwhile, Boston's recent bullpen addition, Eric Gagne, had a bad week and some panic has begun in New England.
What to watch: Joba Chamberlain. The Yankees have totally overhauled their bullpen ahead of Rivera and this young stud -- recently called up from Triple-A -- is the key. But he's in a harness as he can't pitch consecutive days and needs two days rest after a two-inning outing. Can the Yankees' front office continue to tie manger Joe Torre's hands with such restrictive rules in a pennant race?
AL CENTRAL
It looks like two teams and neither the Indians nor Tigers is charging at present.
What to watch: Detroit's starters. With Kenny Rogers and Andrew Miller disabled, the Tigers need the big three, especially Jeremy Bonderman and Nate Robertson to pitch as they did last year.
AL WEST
Seattle's renaissance continues and it has not suffered since Mike Hargrove resigned as manager earlier in the season. Their bullpen, so strong in the first half, has wobbled a bit of late, but not enough to derail them. They'll push the Angels but won't pass them. Suddenly, though, their competition comes not from Oakland, but the Yankees, breathing down their necks for the wild card.
What to watch: Can the Angels John Lackey win 20 games? The quietest star pitcher in the game is dealing and has a lights-out closer in Francisco Rodriguez.
