 |
| Kansas City Royals' first baseman Erik Hosmer |
One hundred and sixty-two games
are in the books for all 30 MLB teams (except Detroit and Cleveland who had a game rained out in mid-September). There will be no tie-breakers. The ten
playoff teams are set. The Battles Of October get underway on Tuesday night
with the American League Wild Card sudden-death elimination game.
But it’s surprising how many
playoff teams played poorly in the final week(s) of the regular season. Even
though everything resets in the postseason, you’d like to see your team finish
the season on a roll to give them some momentum.
Let’s have a look at the teams
that will fight for the World Series this October.
1. Kansas City Royals: American League Central
Champs—The Royals are in the postseason for the second consecutive year,
this time as a division winner and the number one seed. They had no struggles
the final week as they won their last five games to turn a two-game deficit for
the AL’s top seed into a two-game lead at the end. After coming within one run
of winning the 2014 World Series, we’ll see how KC does now that they won’t be
the underdog.
2. Toronto Blue Jays: A.L. East Champs—After
clinching their first division title in 23 years in the first game of a double
header on Wednesday, the Jays proceeded to drop four of their final five games,
including a blown save by closer Roberto Osuna on Saturday, and a 12-3
thrashing at the hands of the Rays on Sunday. It’s difficult to know what to
expect with this team as they head to the playoffs, as most players on the
roster have no post-season experience. Home field will help in the ALDS.
3. Texas Rangers: A.L. West Champs—Before beating the Los Angeles Angels 9-2 on
Sunday to clinch the West, the Rangers struggled a bit in the final week, too.
They lost twice to LA, including coughing up a four run lead with two out in
the ninth on Saturday. They were 5-5 in their last ten games but after having
come from behind to overtake both the Angels and the Houston Astros in the
final month, the Rangers proved they belong in the 2015 playoffs.
4. New York Yankees: First A.L. Wildcard—No team is struggling heading into the playoffs
more than the Yankees. They were swept by the Baltimore Orioles on the weekend,
and earlier in the week, they lost three of four—at home—to the Boston Red Sox.
At one point, New York held a nine-game lead over Toronto, but were over taken
and finished six games back. They will be lucky if they’re still playing in a
week’s time.
5. Houston Astros: Second A.L. Wildcard—Despite taking a nose dive in the month of
September, the Astros have made the postseason for the first time since 2005
when they were in the National League and lost the World Series to the Chicago
White Sox. Houston took two out of three games in each of their last three
series to avoid a near collapse that would have seen them go from a 5 ½ game
lead near the end of August to out of the playoff picture.
 |
| St. Louis Cardinals' third baseman Matt Carpenter |
1. St. Louis Cardinals: National League
Central Champs—The Cards finished with the best record in all of baseball
at 100-62, being the only team to reach triple digits in the win column. But
even they had trouble during the final week. After taking two of three from the
Pittsburgh Pirates to clinch the division, they were swept by the lowly Atlanta
Braves on the weekend. The Cardinals finished two games up on the Pirates and
three ahead of the Chicago Cubs.
2. Los Angeles Dodgers: N.L. West Champs—After losing four in a
row a week ago, the Dodgers had a good final week, posting a 5-2 record and
overtaking the New York Mets for the number two seed, meaning they will have
the home-field advantage when the two teams meet in the NLDS. This is the third straight division title for LA who
will be looking to avoid the disappointment of the previous two post seasons.
3. New York Mets: N.L. East Champs—After sweeping
the Cincinnati Reds last weekend to capture their first division crown since
2006, the Mets struggled in the final week. They lost three straight to the
Philadelphia Phillies, the worst team in baseball. They lost both ends of a
double header against the Washington Nationals on Saturday, including being
no-hit in the second game. However, they scored a 1-0 victory on Sunday to end
the season with a 90-72 record.
4. Pittsburgh Pirates: First N.L. Wildcard—For the third year
in a row, the Pirates will host the NL Wild Card game. They were 3-4 in their
last seven games and won Sunday to avoid finishing tied with the Cubs, which
would have dropped Pittsburgh to the second wild card spot. They did, however,
finish with the second best record in all of baseball, at 98-64.
5. Chicago Cubs: Second N.L. Wildcard—The Cubs are perhaps the hottest team heading
into the postseason having won eight straight games to finish the regular
season. They finished with a 97-65 record making three teams in the same division having the top three records in all
of baseball. That could mean one of two things:
one, the Cards, Pirates and Cubs are really good, or, two, the Brewers (68-94)
and the Reds (64-98) are really bad. Time will tell.
Follow us on Twitter at @topofthethird
Like us on Facebook
No comments:
Post a Comment