The last time we checked in on MLB, the National League seemed to be pretty much under control, with the Cardinals, Nats, and Dodgers on their way to repeat as Divisional Champs. Since then, the Nats have totally collapsed, and they will now probably miss the playoffs altogether, having been overtaken by the red-hot Mets. The Dodgers have lost five straight, and now find themselves in a struggle to hold off the Giants. Meanwhile, the three best teams in the National League -- the Cards, Bucs, and Cubs -- are all in the Central. I'm not sure those three teams have all been good at the same time since the 1930's. I am sure that the Bosox should have kept Theo Epstein, who appears to be building a very solid club for Chicago. If Epstein, who already won the World Series with the Red Sox, wins another one with the Cubs, he really should retire and go straight to the Hall of Fame.
Each team's chances of making the divisional playoffs (according to FanGraphs) are in parentheses. Thirteen teams (7 in the National and 6 in the AL) are battling for eight slots. I want to say for the record that there's no way that the Giants' chances are actually worse than Natstown's:
National League:
1. St. Louis (83.0): 78-45 --
2. Pittsburgh (63.9): 74-48 3 1/2
3. Chicago (50.9): 72-51 6
T4. Los Angeles (82.3): 67-56 11
T4. New York (77.0): 67-56 11
6. San Francisco (17.4): 66-58 12 1/2
T7. Washington (23.7): 62-61 16
T7. Arizona (0.9): 62-61 16
9. San Diego (0.9): 61-63 17 1/2
10. Atlanta (0.0): 53-71 25 1/2
11. Milwaukee (0.0): 53-72 26
12. Cincinnati (0.0): 51-71 26 1/2
T13. Philadelphia (0.0): 50-74 28 1/2
T13. Miami (0.0): 50-74 28 1/2
15. Colorado (0.0): 49-73 28 1/2
Over in the American League, they are partying like it's 1985, with the Royals and Blue Jays on top. I really hope Kansas City makes it back to the World Series -- they've been the best team in the AL, and they really deserve to be there. But the Blue Jays are basically the 1927 Yankees at this point -- they've score 670 runs so far this year, and no other team has scored more than 564.
American League:
1. Kansas City (99.9): 75-48 --
2. Toronto (78.5): 69-55 6 1/2
3. New York (68.4): 68-55 7
4. Houston (89.3): 69-56 7
5. Texas (22.5): 64-59 11
T6. Los Angeles (18.3): 63-61 12 1/2
T6. Minnesota (4.0): 63-61 12 1/2
8. Baltimore (6.4): 62-61 13
9. Tampa Bay (7.5): 62-62 13 1/2
10. Detroit (1.5): 59-64 16
11. Chicago (1.8): 58-64 16 1/2
12. Cleveland (0.9): 58-66 17 1/2
13. Seattle (0.8): 57-67 18 1/2
14. Boston (0.2): 56-68 19 1/2
15. Oakland (0.0): 54-71 22
I just want to point out that the Oakland Athletics have actually scored more runs than they have allowed -- their terrible record is largely due to a horrific mark of 14-29 in extra innings games. Meanwhile, ever since former Athletic Yoenis Cespedes started playing for the Mets a few weeks ago, that team has been unbeatable. Coincidence?
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