I'm a bit surprised one of these hasn't been started yet, so I'll do the honors! I'll offer a brief overview of each team's season up to this point:
American League:
East-
Boston Red Sox: (1st place; 71-47; -- GB) They've been struggling a bit of late, but thanks to the 14.5 game lead over the Yankees which they built earlier in the season, they appear to be able to maintain 1st place in an overall weak division. With a stacked lineup up and down, they should be a formidable opponent in the playoffs.
New York Yankees: (2nd place; 67-51; 4.0 GB) The surging Yankees look to catch Boston in the final two months of the regular season. Due to a slow start in which they played sub-.500 ball for weeks, they've been mired in 2nd place behind Boston for weeks now.
Toronto Blue Jays: (3rd place; 59-58; 11.5 GB) The perennially "average" Blue Jays think they can still make the playoffs by snagging the wild card spot in the American League. With a strong core of starting pitching, they've found themselves in the running.
Baltimore Orioles: (4th place; 54-63; 16.5 GB) Overspenders as usual, the Orioles once again find themselves stuck in the middle of a bad dream. Rumor has it they're looking to deal Miguel Tejada by the end of the season to hopefully clear some roster space (and payroll, for that matter).
Tampa Bay Devil Rays: (5th place; 45-73; 26.0 GB) With that payroll, what do you expect? The only thing Devil Ray fans have to look forward to is not losing their team in the next 5 years.
Central-
Cleveland Indians: (1st place; 65-53; -- GB) Tied in a dead heat with the Tigers, the Indians hope to pull ahead at least temporarily, as they play 5 games against Detroit in the next 10 days.
Detroit Tigers: (1st place; 65-53; -- GB) After finally slowing down from a red-hot first 2 months of the season, Detroit finds itself tied for first place and at risk of not making the playoffs. With a great pitching staff and the "best" lineup in the league, Detroit should pull ahead permanently by the end of the month.
Minnesota Twins: (3rd place; 58-60; 7.0 GB) For as inconsistently as they've been playing, Minnesota should find itself lucky it's only 7 games back. With a strong pitching staff and the reigning MVP champion, the Twins' return to the top is possible.
Chicago White Sox: (4th place; 54-63; 10.5 GB) The Sox had hoped to be a contender this season, but due to underachieving by most of their core players, they've suffered through a poor season. Expect to see Guillen gone before next season.
Kansas City Royals: (5th place; 52-65; 12.5 GB) Every cloud has its silver lining, and this team is no exception. With a very strong and young bullpen, Royals fans have a decent future ahead. Look for Kansas City to catch up to the White Sox before season's end.
West-
Los Angeles Angels: (1st place; 69-47; -- GB) Regardless of what Seattle does in the final stretch of the regular season (and barring a monumental collapse), the Angels will find themselves in the postseason with a stacked lineup and solid pitching.
Seattle Mariners: (2nd place; 66-50; 3.0 GB) With a very strong second half of the season, the Mariners may find themselves in the playoffs with a veteran, albeit unexperienced, team.
Oakland Athletics: (3rd place; 57-62; 13.5 GB) The Athletics have really struggled to find their identity since they dealt their "Big Three" combo of Barry Zito, Tim Hudson, and Mark Mulder a few years back. However, they do have a promising bullpen and young starting pitching to fall back on.
Texas Rangers: (4th place; 51-66; 18.5 GB) The Rangers have had very poor pitching for a while, but they've always had their powerful lineup to pick themselves up. Only problem is: they've dealt Mark Teixeira, and the rest of their power-lineup is old or injured.
National League:
East-
New York Mets: (1st place; 65-52; -- GB) Having cooled off after a superb start to the season, the Mets have regained their hold of the East and look to fend off the Phillies and Braves for this final stretch of the season.
Philadelphia Phillies: (2nd place; 62-55; 3.0 GB) In the middle of an up-and-down season, the Phillies find themselves 3 games back with less than 50 games to play. With their veteran team, they should make an impressive push down the stretch.
Atlanta Braves: (3rd place; 62-56; 3.5 GB) A somewhat resurgent Atlanta squad lies only 3.5 games back from 1st place. Acquiring both Octavio Dotel and Mark Teixeira, the Braves should look to be very competetive.
Florida Marlins: (4th place; 55-63; 10.5 GB) Dontrelle Willis, the face of the Marlins, is suffering through his worst season to date; the team is mired in a similar fashion.
Washington Nationals: (5th place; 54-64; 11.5 GB) With a decent pitching staff, it should be only natural that the Nationals be stuck with a very poor batting unit.
Central-
Milwaukee Brewers: (1st place; 62-56; -- GB) The Brewers should be kissing Prince Fielder's and Ryan Braun's feet right now. Those two hitters are the sole reason that Milwaukee doesn't find itself 10 games behind the Cubs. If the bullpen and starting pitching doesn't pick itself up soon, they may very well lose their lead in the division and spot in the playoffs.
Chicago Cubs: (2nd place; 60-57; 1.5 GB) If fighting is Carlos Zambrano's steroids, pit him against Brad Pitt from Fight Club please. Since the dugout brawl with Michael Barret, Zambrano has been absolutely lights-out with a sub-2.00 ERA. The Cubs will need to catch the Brewers, as the wild card will definitely be going to the West division.
St. Louis Cardinals: (3rd place; 55-60; 5.5 GB) Get a better team, so Albert Pujols can continue his wreckage of all different types of pitching. Either that or trade him.
Houston Astros: (4th place; 53-65; 9.0 GB) All I can say is: congratulations, Craig Biggio, on getting your 3,000th hit. He'll make an outstanding addition to Cooperstown.
Cincinatti Reds: (5th place; 50-67; 11.5 GB) I don't understand this team at all. They hit the most home runs in the league, which should typically equate to run producement, which in turn equates to victories. Now, I know the old saying "the best defense is a good offense," but when you're hitting this many home runs, you should be winning more games.
Pittsburgh Pirates: (6th place; 49-67; 12.0 GB) I guess this team's silver lining would have to be that Ian Snell looks to be a fine young starting pitcher and that Jason Bay is a strong-hitting Canadian.
West-
Arizona Diamondbacks: (1st place; 67-52; -- GB) This team was ruled out by many at the All-Star Break. However, the Diamondbacks have played very strongly and find themselves in an air-tight race for the playoffs.
San Diego Padres: (2nd place; 63-54; 3.0 GB) With a pitching staff that good, you know you'll win games. The division as a whole is very strong, so the Padres will have their work cut out for them to make the playoffs.
Colorado Rockies: (3rd place; 61-56; 5.0 GB) The Rockies? Higher up in the standings than the Dodgers? These West teams have all been playing well lately, as they all are vying for a playoff spot. With a solid hitting unit and a great home-field advantage, Colorado has a chance.
Los Angeles Dodgers: (4th place; 60-58; 6.5 GB) The Dodgers will need to pull themselves together fast to get back in the race. They have the manpower to do it, they just need to get the engines revving again and swing the bats.
San Fransisco Giants: (5th place; 50-68; 16.5 GB) Bonds has broken the record now, so hopefully the Giants can just get back to playing decent baseball.
So, from a Kansas City Royal fan, that's the MLB in a nutshell. I hope this wasn't too tl;dr for anyone. Please add comments or predictions as to how the playoffs will turn out.
P.S. All stats were compiled from www.mlb.com
Disclaimer: All stats were compiled on the afternoon of August 14, 2007.
American League:
East-
Boston Red Sox: (1st place; 71-47; -- GB) They've been struggling a bit of late, but thanks to the 14.5 game lead over the Yankees which they built earlier in the season, they appear to be able to maintain 1st place in an overall weak division. With a stacked lineup up and down, they should be a formidable opponent in the playoffs.
New York Yankees: (2nd place; 67-51; 4.0 GB) The surging Yankees look to catch Boston in the final two months of the regular season. Due to a slow start in which they played sub-.500 ball for weeks, they've been mired in 2nd place behind Boston for weeks now.
Toronto Blue Jays: (3rd place; 59-58; 11.5 GB) The perennially "average" Blue Jays think they can still make the playoffs by snagging the wild card spot in the American League. With a strong core of starting pitching, they've found themselves in the running.
Baltimore Orioles: (4th place; 54-63; 16.5 GB) Overspenders as usual, the Orioles once again find themselves stuck in the middle of a bad dream. Rumor has it they're looking to deal Miguel Tejada by the end of the season to hopefully clear some roster space (and payroll, for that matter).
Tampa Bay Devil Rays: (5th place; 45-73; 26.0 GB) With that payroll, what do you expect? The only thing Devil Ray fans have to look forward to is not losing their team in the next 5 years.
Central-
Cleveland Indians: (1st place; 65-53; -- GB) Tied in a dead heat with the Tigers, the Indians hope to pull ahead at least temporarily, as they play 5 games against Detroit in the next 10 days.
Detroit Tigers: (1st place; 65-53; -- GB) After finally slowing down from a red-hot first 2 months of the season, Detroit finds itself tied for first place and at risk of not making the playoffs. With a great pitching staff and the "best" lineup in the league, Detroit should pull ahead permanently by the end of the month.
Minnesota Twins: (3rd place; 58-60; 7.0 GB) For as inconsistently as they've been playing, Minnesota should find itself lucky it's only 7 games back. With a strong pitching staff and the reigning MVP champion, the Twins' return to the top is possible.
Chicago White Sox: (4th place; 54-63; 10.5 GB) The Sox had hoped to be a contender this season, but due to underachieving by most of their core players, they've suffered through a poor season. Expect to see Guillen gone before next season.
Kansas City Royals: (5th place; 52-65; 12.5 GB) Every cloud has its silver lining, and this team is no exception. With a very strong and young bullpen, Royals fans have a decent future ahead. Look for Kansas City to catch up to the White Sox before season's end.
West-
Los Angeles Angels: (1st place; 69-47; -- GB) Regardless of what Seattle does in the final stretch of the regular season (and barring a monumental collapse), the Angels will find themselves in the postseason with a stacked lineup and solid pitching.
Seattle Mariners: (2nd place; 66-50; 3.0 GB) With a very strong second half of the season, the Mariners may find themselves in the playoffs with a veteran, albeit unexperienced, team.
Oakland Athletics: (3rd place; 57-62; 13.5 GB) The Athletics have really struggled to find their identity since they dealt their "Big Three" combo of Barry Zito, Tim Hudson, and Mark Mulder a few years back. However, they do have a promising bullpen and young starting pitching to fall back on.
Texas Rangers: (4th place; 51-66; 18.5 GB) The Rangers have had very poor pitching for a while, but they've always had their powerful lineup to pick themselves up. Only problem is: they've dealt Mark Teixeira, and the rest of their power-lineup is old or injured.
National League:
East-
New York Mets: (1st place; 65-52; -- GB) Having cooled off after a superb start to the season, the Mets have regained their hold of the East and look to fend off the Phillies and Braves for this final stretch of the season.
Philadelphia Phillies: (2nd place; 62-55; 3.0 GB) In the middle of an up-and-down season, the Phillies find themselves 3 games back with less than 50 games to play. With their veteran team, they should make an impressive push down the stretch.
Atlanta Braves: (3rd place; 62-56; 3.5 GB) A somewhat resurgent Atlanta squad lies only 3.5 games back from 1st place. Acquiring both Octavio Dotel and Mark Teixeira, the Braves should look to be very competetive.
Florida Marlins: (4th place; 55-63; 10.5 GB) Dontrelle Willis, the face of the Marlins, is suffering through his worst season to date; the team is mired in a similar fashion.
Washington Nationals: (5th place; 54-64; 11.5 GB) With a decent pitching staff, it should be only natural that the Nationals be stuck with a very poor batting unit.
Central-
Milwaukee Brewers: (1st place; 62-56; -- GB) The Brewers should be kissing Prince Fielder's and Ryan Braun's feet right now. Those two hitters are the sole reason that Milwaukee doesn't find itself 10 games behind the Cubs. If the bullpen and starting pitching doesn't pick itself up soon, they may very well lose their lead in the division and spot in the playoffs.
Chicago Cubs: (2nd place; 60-57; 1.5 GB) If fighting is Carlos Zambrano's steroids, pit him against Brad Pitt from Fight Club please. Since the dugout brawl with Michael Barret, Zambrano has been absolutely lights-out with a sub-2.00 ERA. The Cubs will need to catch the Brewers, as the wild card will definitely be going to the West division.
St. Louis Cardinals: (3rd place; 55-60; 5.5 GB) Get a better team, so Albert Pujols can continue his wreckage of all different types of pitching. Either that or trade him.
Houston Astros: (4th place; 53-65; 9.0 GB) All I can say is: congratulations, Craig Biggio, on getting your 3,000th hit. He'll make an outstanding addition to Cooperstown.
Cincinatti Reds: (5th place; 50-67; 11.5 GB) I don't understand this team at all. They hit the most home runs in the league, which should typically equate to run producement, which in turn equates to victories. Now, I know the old saying "the best defense is a good offense," but when you're hitting this many home runs, you should be winning more games.
Pittsburgh Pirates: (6th place; 49-67; 12.0 GB) I guess this team's silver lining would have to be that Ian Snell looks to be a fine young starting pitcher and that Jason Bay is a strong-hitting Canadian.
West-
Arizona Diamondbacks: (1st place; 67-52; -- GB) This team was ruled out by many at the All-Star Break. However, the Diamondbacks have played very strongly and find themselves in an air-tight race for the playoffs.
San Diego Padres: (2nd place; 63-54; 3.0 GB) With a pitching staff that good, you know you'll win games. The division as a whole is very strong, so the Padres will have their work cut out for them to make the playoffs.
Colorado Rockies: (3rd place; 61-56; 5.0 GB) The Rockies? Higher up in the standings than the Dodgers? These West teams have all been playing well lately, as they all are vying for a playoff spot. With a solid hitting unit and a great home-field advantage, Colorado has a chance.
Los Angeles Dodgers: (4th place; 60-58; 6.5 GB) The Dodgers will need to pull themselves together fast to get back in the race. They have the manpower to do it, they just need to get the engines revving again and swing the bats.
San Fransisco Giants: (5th place; 50-68; 16.5 GB) Bonds has broken the record now, so hopefully the Giants can just get back to playing decent baseball.
So, from a Kansas City Royal fan, that's the MLB in a nutshell. I hope this wasn't too tl;dr for anyone. Please add comments or predictions as to how the playoffs will turn out.
P.S. All stats were compiled from www.mlb.com
Disclaimer: All stats were compiled on the afternoon of August 14, 2007.
