The Chicago White Sox aren't the sexiest story in baseball right now despite some high dramatics earlier in the season with manager Tony La Russa.
But the Chisox have been in first place in the AL Central since May 7th and have built a 10 game lead over the Cleveland Indians. At this point, it isn't a question of if they will clinch the division but when. When they do it will be their first divisional crown since 2008. The Indians will spend the final month of existence hoping to finish the season over .500. The Detroit Tigers had their first losing month since April and it will probably be enough to keep them under .500 in 2021. The Kansas City Royals had their first winning month since April while the Minnesota Twins had their first winning month of the season in August. While they will compete for the cellar they will at least avoid losing 100 games this season.
The Tampa Bay Rays have nearly as tight a grip on the AL East as the White Sox do in the AL Central. The Rays went 21-6 in August finishing the month with 9 straight wins and have an 8 game lead over the New York Yankees. The Bronx Bombers had their finest month of the season going 21-6 with a 13-game winning streak before coming down to Earth and losing their final four games of the month. But they now have the first seed of the AL Wild Card. Thoughts of firing Aaron Boone have subsided - at least for now. The Boston Red Sox have their other AL Wild Card seed but you wouldn't know it with the current COVID outbreak which has claimed more than a third of the team including All-Star Xander Bogaerts. As such, the Toronto Blue Jays still have Wild Card dreams at 4.5 games back of the Bosox. Then there are the Baltimore Orioles who went 4-24 in August with a 19-game losing streak. The Orioles only need to win 2 games to avoid the fate of the 1962 New York Mets. Still, the O's could be worse than when they went 47-115 in 2018.
In the AL West, the Houston Astros hold a five game lead over the Oakland A's who are only a game back of the Boston Red Sox for the second spot in the AL Wild Card. The Seattle Mariners enter September only 3.5 games back of the second wild card berth ending the month besting the Astros and their old teammate Kendall Graveman. Shohei Ohtani may win the AL MVP but the Los Angeles Angels end August a game under .500. Ohtani might be spectacular on both the mound and at the plate but the Angels won't be playing baseball in October any more than the Texas Rangers who have already been mathematically eliminated.
The only team other than the Chicago White Sox which has a double digit divisional lead is the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central. The Brew Crew have a 10 game lead on the Cincinnati Reds. But the Reds ended August tied for the second NL Wild Card berth with the San Diego Padres. The St. Louis Cardinals are only 2.5 games back of that second seed. The Chicago Cubs are getting used to life as a second division and for the Pittsburgh Pirates the second division is their life.
The San Francisco Giants still have the best record in MLB but they have only a half game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West. The Giants had a great August going 19-9 but the Dodgers were even better at 23-6. The San Diego Padres have had back to back losing months and are 13.5 games back of the Giants and are now tied with the Cincinnati Reds for the second NL Wild Card spot. The best the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks can do is deny the Padres a second consecutive post-season trip.
The NL East was baseball's most volatile division in August. The New York Mets began the month with a 4 game lead in the division and the only team in the division with a winning record. Today, the Mets are in third place, 5.5. games out and now have a losing record. The Mets went 10-19 and their players led by recent acquisition Javy Baez began making a thumbs down gesture to their fans. Although the Mets did win their final three games of the month with Baez scoring the winning run yesterday against the Marlins, the Mets have a very big hill to climb. Initially, the Mets were overtaken by the Philadelphia Phillies on August 6th. Nine days later, the Phillies were supplanted by the Atlanta Braves who embarked upon a 9-game winning streak. The Braves, who had won back to back NL East titles, began playing their best baseball all season and have a 2.5 game lead over the Phillies. Philadelphia finished its month with 5 straight wins and is also only 2.5 games back of the second NL Wild Card berth. At this point, the Mets have about as much to play baseball in October as the Washington Nationals and Miami Marlins who are in a race to the bottom.
If COVID overcomes the Red Sox will it be the A's, Mariners or Blue Jays who will face the Yankees in the AL Wild Card? Will the Giants be able to hold off the Dodgers for the NL West title or will the Giants have to play the NL Wild Card Game? And if they do will it be against the Padres, Reds, Cardinals or Phillies? Who will clinch first? Will it take until the last day of the season? Or will that be enough?
I'm almost getting excited for baseball in October.
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