When August began, the St. Louis Cardinals were in fourth place in the NL Central 7.5 games back of the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers and now looking up at the surging Pittsburgh Pirates.
But after going 22-6 in August, the Cardinals now own the top spot in the NL Wild Card race and are only 3.5 games back of the Cubs and could conceivably win the NL Central before it's all over. New manager Mike Shildt's easy going, low key approach helped Matt Carpenter have a power surge and Harrison Bader has made the most of his opportunities after Tommy Pham was dealt to Tampa Bay. Miles Mikolas is a legitimate Cy Young candidate, rookie Jack Flaherty is getting better with every start and who knew that Bud Norris could close games?
Still, the Cubs have the best record in the NL and have played their best baseball since acquiring Daniel Murphy from the Washington Nationals and will be tough to knock off. Meanwhile, the Brewers who are currently four games back of the Cubs and hold the second NL Wild Card spot are fortifying the team by adding longtime Nationals starter Gio Gonzalez, Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Curtis Granderson and White Sox reliever Xavier Cedeno to the roster. The Brewers narrowly missed the post-season in 2017 and do not want history to repeat itself.
Unfortunately, the Pirates are going in the opposite direction. Acquiring Chris Archer from the Rays has not paid dividends and following a 10-17 effort in August have parted ways with both David Freese and Adeiny Hechevarria sending them to the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees, respectively. Despite this setback it doesn't appear that Clint Hurdle is going anywhere. After two straight winning months, the Cincinnati Reds played like a last place team in August going 9-19. But make no mistake. Things are a lot better with Jim Riggleman in the dugout with better things to come in 2019.
The Atlanta Braves hold a two game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East. Certainly no one expected the Washington Nationals to be under .500 and 7.5 games off the pace. After a disastrous 5-21 mark in June, the New York Mets have played .500 ball since and can take some comfort that they will likely finish the season ahead of the Miami Marlins, who like the Reds, played like a last place team in August going 7-19.
The NL West is MLB's tightest race with the Arizona Diamondbacks holding a one game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers and a 1.5 game lead over the Colorado Rockies. Unlike 2017 when all three teams made the post-season only one team is likely to make it this year. If this is the case then the Dodgers could miss the playoffs for the first time since 2012. At 68-68, the San Francisco Giants could theoretically get back into the race but having just traded Andrew McCutchen to the New York Yankees this is an indication the team is looking towards 2019. As for the San Diego Padres, with 83 losses under their belt they will have 8 straight losing seasons.
Although the Boston Red Sox finished August losing 7 of their last 12 games, the Red Sox have 93 wins. They had 93 wins in all of 2017. The Red Sox might not eclipse the 1906 Chicago Cubs or the 2001 Seattle Mariners, but they will likely have their first 100 win season since 1946 and eclipse the franchise record 105 wins set all the way back in 1912.
To give you an idea of how good the Red Sox are, the New York Yankees' 85-50 record would have them in the first place in any other division in MLB. But in the AL East they are 7.5 games back of the Red Sox. Of course, for Red Sox Nation that isn't nearly enough.
The Tampa Bay Rays end August 21 games back of the Red Sox. But don't tell that to the Red Sox. The Rays are the only team to sweep the Red Sox in 2018. I'm not sure how Kevin Cash does it with a no name roster and having no rotation outside of Blake Snell with middle relievers starting games. But he's done it and he deserves to be named AL Manager of the Year.
The fate of Toronto Blue Jays manager John Gibbons and Baltimore Orioles manager Buck Showalter is far from certain. Although Gibbons has a year left on his contract, Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins says Gibbons will finish this season with the club putting 2019 very much in doubt. The Jays are having a bad season, but they are 21.5 games ahead of the Orioles who after going 8-20 in August are 52.5 games back of the Red Sox. The Orioles might not be the 1962 New York Mets, but they will certainly exceed the 107 loss season in 1988 and might even exceed the 111 losses suffered in 1939 by their predecessors the St. Louis Browns.
Last month, I chided the Cleveland Indians for being lucky to be in the AL Central. The Tribe responded with their best baseball of the season going 19-9 in August and have a cozy 14 game lead over the Minnesota Twins. Their magic number to clinch the division is 15. Of course, the rest of the division is utterly mediocre although the Chicago White Sox did have a 17-12 August. They began August only four games ahead of the last place Kansas City Royals Royals and eight back of the Detroit Tigers. They begin September tied for third place with the Tigers. It might not mean much now, but it could be a sign of good things to come in 2019.
The Houston Astros are still in first place in the AL West, but have only a 1.5 game lead over the Oakland A's. The teams were tied for first as late as August 21st. Unless the Seattle Mariners can regain their form of April through June at the expense of one of these teams then their playoff drought will extend to 17 seasons. But at least the Mariners have something for which to fight unlike either the Los Angeles Angels or the Texas Rangers.
September will undoubtedly be an exciting, but nerve wracking month for baseball teams and fans alike.
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