The Stretch Run
It's been months since I've written at length about baseball in this space, and I don't think I've watched a game in its entirety since April. Blame the Mets.
That said, I just finished Moneyball last night, and I've been closely following the wild-card and divisonal races in both leagues in the last couple weeks. It's an exciting time to be a baseball fan.
I rooted all weekend for the Red Sox to sweep the Yankees, and nearly got my wish. They couldn't quite pull it off, though, and now sit 3.5 games behind in the divisional race. With Seattle's recent woes, it's likely that the loser of the AL East race will wind up with the wild card, but I'm still pulling for the Red Sox to get hot and knock the Yankees off the top. It's hard to say how their remaining schedules will affect the race, but the best squad that either team faces is the White Sox, playing them three times apiece. The remaining games are against Baltimore, Cleveland, and Tampa Bay, all teams playing well below .500, so it's going to be a horse race.
The AL Central features an even more exciting race, because there won't be a Wild Card slot for the runner-up. Though the Twins are currently two games back, I'm going to say they'll pull ahead before the end of the season, mostly because of their seven remaining games against Detroit. In any event, it'll be a lot of fun to watch.
Speaking of the Tigers, they need six wins (or a combination of six wins and rainouts) before the end of the season to avoid breaking the 1962 Mets' record for losses in a season. Their upcoming four-game series against Kansas City next week is absolutely critical: if they do not at least split, they will break the record. My prediction? A final record of 40-122.
The AL West could have an exciting finish, too. The slumping Mariners are still only 2.5 games behind the A's. The two teams play six games against each other before the end of the season, including a three-game series on the season's final weekend. I'm hoping the race stays close enough to make the last series meaningful (though I wouldn't be upset if the A's go on a tear and pull way out in front).
In the NL Central, the Cubs, Astros and Cardinals are all fighting for one spot. All it takes is a look at Chicago's upcoming schedule--series against the Reds, Pirates, and Mets--to know that they'll probably win the division by a few games.
The NL wild card is a tougher race to call. Theoretically, there are still six teams in it; three of them, however, are the NL Central teams mentioned above, and they're likely to pound the hell out of each other in the coming weeks. The Marlins and Phillies each play each other several times, as well, so, in spite of the fact that they play seven games against the unstoppable (and, I think, eventual World Series champs) Giants, I'm going to pick the Dodgers in a tight race.
And now a digression from current baseball events. Moneyball was the best baseball book I've ever read, and easily one of the best books I've read in the last several years. It took me less than a week to read it in the space between classes; it moves fast, it's well-written, and it's remarkably funny. For a book about a bunch of baseball outsiders running a team, it's a strikingly insider look at the business. I can't recommend it strongly enough.
September 10, 2003 - 11:31 AM