The Swingin' A's

Currently lead the AL West.

#GreenCollar!

OK, the A's lost Saturday, and I said I wasn't going to get excited and start posting about them unless they won that game. But now the A's have won today, and it's fun to be excited about your team. Oakland is now 7-9 and just one game out of the American League West lead! Go, A's!!! Now the Cardinals are coming to town, and that means I'll get to hear them on local radio here in Madisonville. Sports is the best!

MLB Update

In the National League, the Rockies, Nationals, and Cardinals have all been eliminated.  The Braves have won the NL East.  The Dodgers have won the NL West.

In the American League, the Athletics, Royals, White Sox, Angels, and Red Sox have all been eliminated.  No AL divisions have been clinched as of yet.

The last day of the regular season is Sunday, October 1.

The Athletics have won 46 games, so they will finish well ahead of the 1962 Mets, who went 40-120.  The Nats have won 68 games, so they will finish with a winning percentage above .400.  I'd like to see the Nats get to 70 wins, but their last eight games are all against the Braves and Orioles, and it won't surprise me if they lose out.

MLB Update

Teams eliminated in the National League:  Nats, Rockies.  Thirteen teams are still alive.

Teams eliminated in the American League:  Angels, White Sox, Royals, A's.  Eleven teams are still alive.

1976

 Being an A's fan is always kind of weird.

19 Jun 1976, Sat The Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts) Newspapers.com

1975

21 Apr 1975, Mon The San Francisco Examiner (San Francisco, California) Newspapers.com

The A's host Texas for a couple of games tonight, Monday, April 21, and tomorrow 1975. This is the second time already this season that the A's and Rangers have hooked up, and let's look back at their beautiful game at Arlington Stadium back on April 12 ...

MLB Preview, Part II

In Las Vegas, you can bet over or under on how many wins each MLB team will get this year.  Here are the lines for each team, which will tell you how many wins the market expects each team to get:

National League:

Los Angeles:  102 1/2

San Diego:  94 1/2

Atlanta:  91 1/2

New York:  90 1/2

St. Louis:  86 1/2

Washington:  84 1/2

Milwaukee:  82 1/2

Cincinnati:  81 1/2

Philadelphia:  80 1/2

Chicago:  78 1/2

San Francisco:  75 1/2

Arizona:  74 1/2

Miami:  71 1/2

Colorado:  63 1/2

Pittsburgh:  59 1/2

American League:

New York:  95 1/2

Chicago:  90 1/2

Minnesota:  88 1/2

Houston:  87 1/2

Oakland:  86 1/2

Toronto:  86 1/2

Tampa Bay:  85 1/2

Los Angeles:  83 1/2

Cleveland:  81 1/2

Boston:  80 1/2

Kansas City:  73 1/2

Seattle:  72 1/2

Detroit:  68 1/2

Texas:  66 1/2

Baltimore:  64 1/2

A lot of potentially good stories here.  A tight race between the Braves and Mets in the NL East.  A tight race between the White Sox and Twins in the AL Central.  A tight race between the Astros and A's in the AL West.  Tension for fans of the Cubs, Red Sox, and Giants -- all of whom could be in for another long year.  And finally, a potential World Series between the Yankees and Dodgers -- something that has not happened since 1981.

Of course, this web page will be supporting the Nats and the A's, as usual.  But we wish everyone a safe and healthy new season.

MLB Preview

Courtesy of Oddsshark.com, here are the odds for winning the National League:

Los Angeles:  33/20

San Diego:  17/4

Atlanta:  11/2

New York:  6/1

St. Louis:  12/1

Cincinnati:  20/1

Washington:  20/1

Milwaukee:  25/1

Chicago:  30/1

Philadelphia:  33/1

Miami:  45/1

San Francisco:  70/1

Arizona:  100/1

Colorado:  100/1

Pittsburgh:  150/1

Here are the odds for winning the American League:

New York:  5/2

Chicago:  15/4

Minnesota:  15/2

Toronto:  8/1

Tampa Bay:  19/2

Houston:  10/1

Oakland:  10/1

Los Angeles:  20/1

Boston:  24/1

Cleveland:  28/1

Kansas City:  45/1

Seattle:  60/1

Baltimore:  80/1

Detroit:  80/1

Texas:  80/1

Good luck to everyone!  This could be the last season without a designated hitter in the National League, the last season without expanded playoffs, and the last season before a big labor shortage that's set to blow up everything in 2022.  Let's enjoy it while we can.

MLB Update

 After months without any normal baseball -- a short season, 7-inning double-header games, starting the 10th inning with a runner on second, and then ludicrous wild-card series -- we are finally down to eight teams at the beginning of October.  And for the rest of the way we will be under normal rules, except for the DH in the National League, which is probably here to stay since the men who own baseball teams hate their fans.

Here's what happened in the silly wild-card series:

NATIONAL LEAGUE:

(1) Los Angeles 2 - 0 (8) Milwaukee

(4) San Diego 2 - 1 (5) St. Louis

(3) Chicago 0 - 2 (6) Miami

(2) Atlanta 2 - 0 (7) Cincinnati

Which sets up the following best-of-five divisional series:

Los Angeles (43-17) v. San Diego (37-23) (in Arlington, Tex.)

Atlanta (35-25) v. Miami (31-29) (in Houston)

For the record, the Marlins have never been eliminated in the post-season.  They've been to the playoffs twice -- in 1997 and 2003 -- and they won the World Series both times.

AMERICAN LEAGUE:

(1) Tampa Bay 2 - 0 (8) Toronto

(4) Cleveland 0 - 2 (5) New York

(3) Minnesota 0 - 2 (6) Houston

(2) Oakland 2 - 1 (7) Chicago

And here are the Divisional Series:

Tampa Bay (40-20) v. New York (33-27) (in Los Angeles and San Diego)

Oakland (36-24) v. Houston (29-31) (in San Diego and Los Angeles)

Of course, all decent Americans will be rooting for the Swingin' A's to take out Houston, the Keyser Soze of modern baseball.  At this point, I'd root for the Soviet Hockey Team over the Astros.

It seems weird that the National League playoffs are in American League ballparks, while the American League playoffs are in National League ballparks.  I can only assume that this has something to do with MLB's desire to hurt its own fans.

MLB Update

 It's too early to express opinions on the various rule changes that MLB is experimenting with this year, so I'm not going to do so.  What I plan to do is basically follow everything in a very mellow way, and then start taking it seriously once there are eight teams left in the playoffs.  In the meantime, I will only note that the Angels are wasting another season in Mike Trout's career:

National League:

Los Angeles:  18-7  --

Chicago:  16-8  1 1/2

Colorado:  13-10  4

Atlanta:  14-11  4

Arizona:  13-11  4 1/2

Miami:  9-8  5

San Diego:  13-12  5

Milwaukee:  10-11 6

Philadelphia:  9-10  6

St. Louis:  6-7  6

New York:  11-14  7

Washington:  9-12  7

Cincinnati:  9-12   7

San Francisco:  9-16  9

Pittsburgh:  4-15  11

American League:

New York:  16-7  --

Oakland:  16-8  1/2

Minnesota:  16-8  1/2

Tampa Bay:  15-9  1 1/2

Cleveland:  14-9  2

Houston:  13-10  3

Chicago:  13-11  3 1/2

Baltimore:  12-12  4 1/2

Toronto:  10-11  5

Texas:  10-12  5 1/2

Detroit:  9-12  6

Kansas City:  10-14  6 1/2

Los Angeles:  8-16  8 1/2

Seattle:  7-18  10

Boston:  7-18  10

What's On TV This Afternoon (1973)?

I wish this was the complete NBC broadcast with the commercials, but how ungrateful could a nostalgic A's fan get? The Internet Is Amazing™, and here's Game 7 of the 1973 World Series, telecast starting at 3 Central Sunday afternoon, Oct. 21, 1973:

Here's your boy, YouTube user "Classic Baseball on the Radio," if you want to sync up the Mets' radio to the video:

Here are some baseball-y ads from Sports Illustrated this year on which I might comment:

And here are the World Series rosters for Oakland and New York--as pictured with the Mike Andrews Sporting News in our kitchen--and I definitely plan to comment on all of this stuff:

Go, A's!

MLB Update

At this point, MLB has settled into a role in the culture that strikes me as very odd.  This year, over 68 million people attended major league baseball games -- down from 2018, but still far beyond any attendance figure you would have seen in the 1970's.  In 1978, for example, the New York Yankees participated in one of the most dramatic and heart-stopping pennant races in history -- a legendary come-from-behind battle against the Red Sox that wasn't decided until a one-game playoff after the regular season.  Those Yankees were also the defending World Series Champions, and rolled out a line-up featuring legends like Reggie Jackson, Thurman Munson, Ron Guidry, and Goose Gossage.  They drew 2.336 million fans in 1978.  This year, the Yankees flattened everyone in their division and played no meaningful games all year.  They drew 3.3 million fans.

This year, the Orioles effectively tanked -- they sent out one of their worst teams in history.  They drew 1.56 million fans.  In 1978, the Orioles were in the middle of a stretch where they were one of the best franchises in the game.  They drew 1.05 million fans.

I could go on, and some of the results are unbelievable -- this year's Pirates outdrew the 1978 Pirates (a much better team) by around 500,000 fans.  In 1978, only 18,601 persons per game showed up for games at Wrigley Field.  Fewer than 6,600 persons per game attended games in Oakland.  Only three teams -- the Reds, Dodgers, and Phillies -- drew more than 30,000 persons per game.  This year, thirteen teams drew more than 30,000 per game, including no-hopers in San Francisco and Colorado.  Obviously, MLB is much more successful at drawing fans now than it was back then.

But here's the thing:  back then, you pretty much didn't go to a baseball game unless you liked baseball -- and the number of folks who really cared about baseball back then was significantly bigger than it is now.  I couldn't find the numbers for 1978, but in 1985 Game One of the World Series drew a rating of 25.3.  That game featured the Cardinals and Royals -- two clubs from Missouri.  Last year's Game One -- featuring the Red Sox and the Dodgers, two of the biggest clubs in the sport -- drew a rating of only 8.3.  In other words, two thirds of the folks who were tuned into the World Series in 1985 no longer watch.

Why did this happen?  I believe it is because MLB no longer considers its championship a big deal for neutral fans.  They must have marketing data showing that people only care about their own team, and don't care about anything else.  So if you're a baseball fan, you get lots and lots of information about your team, but very little about the rest of the league.  I know a lot more about the Houston Rockets or the Houston Texans than I do about the Houston Astros -- even though the Astros are a phenomenal team that won the 2017 World Series in thrilling fashion.  Both the NFL and the NBA make a big effort to build a narrative over the course of the season, and to encourage fans to tune in to the playoffs even if their team has been eliminated.  MLB just doesn't do that.  The playoff games are always difficult to find on TV, the games are played at teams where young fans can't watch them, and the announcing squads are dreadful.  Even more importantly, the current set-up -- where every decent team makes the playoffs -- is designed to prevent any drama in the regular season, which gets all of us out of the habit of watching the rest of the league.

Fortunately, I'm too old to be discouraged by these tactics.  I still enjoy the MLB playoffs, and there have been some really good playoff series in recent years.  This year we have five really good teams -- the Astros, the Yankees, the Twins, the Dodgers, and the Braves.  I look forward to any match-up that features two of these teams.  The A's and Nats are still hanging on for wild card spots, and of course I'll be rooting for them.

A few pieces of business to wrap up the regular season.  Dave Dombrowski, the General Manager who built Boston's powerhouse that won the 2018 championship, has been let go.  Joe Maddon, the Field Manager who took the Cubs to the 2016 championship, will not be managing in Wrigley Field next year.  The Texas Rangers, who moved into a new stadium called the Ballpark in Arlington back in the distant days of 1994, will move to a new stadium next year.  I have no idea why any of these moves happened, and I won't be surprised if any or all of them turn out to be mistakes.  If I lived in Boston, or Chicago, or Dallas, I would know a lot more about the background of these stories.  As it is, I know much less about any of them than I do about, say, Russell Wilson's personal life.  That's the world MLB has created, and I just live here.

A fond farewell to Bruce Bochy, who concludes a rather odd career.  He managed the Padres from 1995 to 2006, winning their only NL pennant in 1998.  Then he managed the Giants from 2007 to 2019, winning their only World Series in 2010, 2012, and 2014.  In 25 seasons in the NL West, he won the division only six times, and finished with a lifetime record of 2003-2028.  But he won 4 pennants and 3 World Series Titles.  His post-season record in San Francisco was 36-17, which is extraordinary.  I don't think he was lucky.  I think he's a great manager who spent most of his career burdened by a lack of talent, but who could beat you whenever his team was even close to being as good as yours.

One more point:  your tanking teams for this year were the Royals, Orioles, Tigers, and Marlins.  It will be interesting if any of these teams get the type of payoff in the 2020's and the Astros and Nats got in the last decade.  What I know to be true is that Billy Beane has fewer resources than almost any team in baseball, but he never tanks and he is almost always competitive.  I prefer the A's model to the Royals' model.

Here are the final standings:

AMERICAN LEAGUE:
Houston:  107-55  ---
New York:  103-59  4
Minnesota:  101-61  6
Oakland:  97-65  10
Tampa Bay:  96-66  11
Cleveland:  93-69  14
Boston:  84-78  23
Texas:  78-84  29
Chicago:  72-89  34 1/2
Los Angeles:  72-90  35
Seattle:  68-94  39
Toronto:  67-95  40
Kansas City:  59-103  48
Baltimore:  54-108  53
Detroit:  47-114  59 1/2

NATIONAL LEAGUE:
Los Angeles:  106-56  ---
Atlanta:  97-65  9
Washington:  93-69  13
St. Louis:  91-71  15
Milwaukee:  89-73  17
New York:  86-76  20
Arizona:  85-77  21
Chicago:  84-78  22
Philadelphia:  81-81  25
San Francisco:  77-85  29
Cincinnati:  75-87  31
Colorado:  71-91  35
San Diego:  70-92  36
Pittsburgh:  69-93  37
Miami:  57-105  49

MLB Update

You may recall that the Brewers came within one game of winning the National League pennant last year.  For most of this year, they didn't do very much, and after a 7-1 defeat on August 30 they were seemingly out of playoff contention with a record of 68-66.  But since then, they have gone 18-4.  Meanwhile, at the end of the day on August 30 the Nats were 75-58 and in sole possession of the top wild card spot.  Since then, they have gone 10-11.  So the Brewers have made up 7 1/2 games on the Nats in less than three weeks, and these two teams are now tied for the top wild card spot in the National League.  But the Brewers have the advantage.  They have six road games left against two of the worst teams in baseball -- the Reds and the Rockies.  Meanwhile, the Nats have eight home games left against two teams struggling to survive -- the Phillies and the Indians.  So I think you can chalk up the top wild card spot for the Brew Crew.  They will host either the Nats or the Cubs, and then I'm pretty sure Milwaukee will be going onto the real playoffs.

Over in the American League, the Swingin' A's are now an eye-popping 94 and 61, and they hold the top wild card spot by 2 1/2 games over Tampa, and by 3 games over the Tribe.  Everyone else is eliminated.  So it appears that Oakland will probably host the wild card game against either the Rays or the Indians.

Everything else is pretty much settled.  The Astros, Yankees, and Twins will be the division winners in the AL.  The Dodgers and Braves have won their divisions in the NL.  The Cardinals' lead over Milwaukee is only 2 1/2 games, and it is possible that the red-hot Brewers will catch St. Louis for the division crown.  But that race, along with the usual wild card scramble, are the only remaining business before we finally get down to watching the really good teams play games that matter.  It's felt like a long exhibition season for months now, and I'm ready for some meaningful action.

MLB Update

Well, we have two weeks left in the regular season, and a whole host of teams scrambling for the last few playoff spots.  If the playoffs go as they should, however, none of these teams will be with us for very long.  In the American League, the Astros and Yankees are almost certainly both going to win over 100 games.  In the NL, the Dodgers and Braves are likely to match that feat.  These are four very strong teams, any one of which would be a legitimate champion.  Assuming that those are your four finalists, the two League Championship Series should be something to watch.  Would I rather watch a pennant race?  Of course.  But that's not an option.

At the other end of the scale, keep track of the teams that have tanked.  The Marlins, Royals, Orioles, and Tigers are all more than 40 games behind the league leaders.  They are dreadful.  But that's how the Nats got Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg.  That's how the Astros got the core of their 2017 Champions.  And a lot of smart folks in baseball think that's the best way to compete with the Big Boys.  It will be interesting to compare, say, the Phillies and the Marlins, and see which approach works better over the next five years.

NATIONAL LEAGUE:
Los Angeles:  97-54  --
Atlanta:  93-58  4
St. Louis:  83-66  13
Washington:  82-66  13 1/2
Chicago:  81-68  15
Milwaukee:  80-69  16
New York:  77-72  19
Philadelphia:  76-72  19 1/2
Arizona:  76-74  20 1/2
San Francisco:  72-78  24 1/2
Cincinnati:  70-80  26 1/2
San Diego:  68-81  28
Pittsburgh:  65-85  31 1/2
Colorado:  65-86  31 1/2
Miami:  52-97  44

AMERICAN LEAGUE:
Houston:  98-53  --
New York:  98-53  --
Minnesota:  91-58  6
Oakland:  90-60  7 1/2
Tampa Bay:  89-62  9
Cleveland:  87-63  10 1/2
Boston:  79-70  18
Texas:  74-77  24
Los Angeles:  68-82  29 1/2
Chicago:  65-84  32
Seattle:  62-88  35 1/2
Toronto:  59-91  38 1/2
Kansas City:  55-95  42 1/2
Baltimore:  49-100  48
Detroit:  44-104  52 1/2

MLB Update

Well, after I talked up the chances of the Mets, they pretty much collapsed.  The Mets have now lost six in a row, they were swept by the Braves and the Cubs, and ESPN now gives them only a 13.8 percent chance of making the playoffs.  In fact, the two hottest teams in the NL are those two long-time October losers, the Braves and the Nats.  The Cardinals are also making a strong run.  The race between the Cardinals and the Cubs is the most interesting thing going in the NL.

Over in the AL, we're pretty much marking time until the Yankees and Astros can meet in the playoffs.  While we are waiting, the race between the A's, Rays, and Red Sox for the last wild card could also result in some drama.

Last weekend, the Yankees went out to Dodger Stadium and took 2 out of 3 without too much trouble.  I thought that series boded very ill for the Dodgers.  But of course, I thought the Mets were a contender.

One more point:  There are, as always, multiple reports (mostly from reporters that don't like baseball) that MLB is in trouble.  There is also a story that the Kansas City Royals (which were bought in 2000 for $96 million) are now on sale for close to $1 billion.  That seems like a pretty significant data point when we talk about whether MLB is in trouble.

NATIONAL LEAGUE:
Los Angeles:  88-48  --
Atlanta:  81-54  6 1/2
Washington:  74-58  12
St. Louis:  73-59  13
Chicago:  72-61  14 1/2
Philadelphia:  69-63  17
Milwaukee:  68-65  18 1/2
Arizona:  68-66  19
New York:  67-66  19 1/2
San Francisco:  65-68  21 1/2
Cincinnati:  63-70  23 1/2
San Diego:  62-71  24 1/2
Colorado:  59-76  28 1/2
Pittsburgh:  57-77  30
Miami:  48-85  38 1/2

AMERICAN LEAGUE:
New York:  88-47  --
Houston:  87-48  1
Minnesota:  82-51  5
Cleveland:  79-55  8 1/2
Oakland:  77-56  10
Tampa Bay:  77-58  11
Boston:  72-62  15 1/2
Texas:  65-70  23
Los Angeles:  64-71  24
Chicago:  60-73  27
Seattle:  57-78  31
Toronto:  54-81  34
Kansas City:  47-88  41
Baltimore:  44-89  43
Detroit:  39-92  47

MLB Update: Day 13

In the bottom of the third inning yesterday up in Canada, Josh Donaldson blasted a home run to give Toronto a 1-0 lead over the Cleveland Indians and their ace Corey Kluber.  This early sign of hitting prowess seemed to awaken the Blue Jays from their slumber, and they rolled to an easy 5-1 win -- holding the Tribe to only two hits along the way.  Team Canada gets one more chance on its home field today, and if they win, the Series will be going back to Northern Ohio and a lot of very nervous Indian fans.  If the Blue Jays lose, Cleveland will be headed for the World Series.

But the real drama was out in Los Angeles, where the Cubs were shut out for the second game in a row.  This time the Dodgers didn't have to rely on Clayton Kershaw -- Rich Hill (who started the season with the Oakland A's) -- shut down Chicago for six innings, and the bullpen had little trouble the rest of the way.  Meanwhile, the Dodgers whacked the ball all over the yard, and had no troubles in a dominating 6-0 win.

The Dodgers have now thrown 18 scoreless innings at the Cubs, and Cub fans have to be thinking about last year's NLCS.  You will recall that Chicago looked awesome against St. Louis in the DS, blasting home runs all over the place and winning three games to one.  But then they ran into the Mets, who did this:

Mets 4, Cubs 2
Mets 4, Cubs 1
Mets 5, Cubs 2
Mets 8, Cubs 3

Four dominant pitching performances in a row.  In four games, the Cubs batted .164, with 21 hits and 37 strikeouts.  So long, thanks for playing.

Of course, since jumping out to a 25-6 record at the beginning of this season, the Cubs haven't had too much trouble scoring runs.  They ran into some difficulties in Games 3 and 4 of the DS with San Francisco, but finally put the Giants away with four late runs off of a shaky Giants' bullpen.  And then they blasted the Dodgers 8-4 in Game 1 of this series.  So it seems unlikely that their bats will remain as silent as they have been for the last two days.  But if nothing else, the Dodgers have guaranteed that the Cubs can't beat them in five games.  So even if the Cubs win the next two, the Dodgers will have Kershaw ready to go in Game Six.  And what had looked like an easy win for the Cubs suddenly appears much more challenging.

Toronto 5 - 1 Cleveland

Los Angeles 6 - 0 Chicago

NATIONAL LEAGUE:
Los Angeles leads Chicago 2-1

AMERICAN LEAGUE:
Cleveland leads Toronto 3-1

MLB Update

We haven't done any MLB updates this year because there was very little to say.  In the National League, it has been obvious since April that the Cubs are a great team -- probably the strongest team in the National League since the great Phillies teams of the late 2000's.  So the only drama in the NL comes now, when we learn whether the Cubs can survive the bumper-car style drama of the baseball playoffs.  In the first round, they will have to play the Giants -- a team that almost never wins 95 games, but which is going for its fourth world title in the last seven years.  They will be a tough out, but if the Cubs can get past them, then they draw either the Nats or the Dodgers, and both of those teams have had terrible post-season records lately.

We do want to give Natstown a lot of credit for quietly building a very successful franchise.  This year was the third time in the last five that Natstown has won the NL East -- and they turned the trick with three different managers.  No one else has paid much attention to the Nats, because their post-season record is a dismal 3-6.  And with Steven Strasburg and Wilson Ramos (their slugging catcher) out for the playoffs, the Nats will probably go out in the first round again this time.  But this could be Dusty Baker's year -- the Nats' manager has connections to all four NL playoff teams, and that may mean something.

NATIONAL LEAGUE:
Chicago:  103-58 --
Washington:  95-67  8 1/2
Los Angeles:  91-71  12 1/2
San Francisco:  87-75  16 1/2
New York:  87-75  16 1/2
St. Louis:  86-76  17 1/2
Miami:  79-82  24
Pittsburgh:  78-83  25
Colorado:  75-87  28 1/2
Milwaukee:  73-89  30 1/2
Philadelphia:  71-91  32 1/2
Arizona:  69-93  34 1/2
Atlanta:  68-93  35
San Diego:  68-94  35 1/2
Cincinnati:  68-94  35 1/2

In the American League, the big story was that Kansas City -- the two-time defending champs -- faded early and never seriously contended for the playoffs.  The second-biggest story was that the Yankees missed the divisional playoffs for the fourth year in a row, and you really wonder how much longer that will last.  Meanwhile, the Texas Rangers are back in the playoffs yet again -- they will get a re-match of last year's divisional series with the Blue Jays.  (For the record, the Heath Post has chronicled the Golden Age of Texas Rangers baseball -- they have two AL Pennants, and four AL West titles, since we started this blog.) My policy is that I don't watch the Rangers or the Blue Jays unless they make it to the ALCS, so I will miss that series entirely.  On the other hand, I will watch almost any game featuring the Bosox and the Indians, who are two of my favorite franchises in baseball, so I'm really looking forward to that series.  The Swingin' A's had a disappointing year, but we will hope that they rebound soon.

AMERICAN LEAGUE:
Texas:  95-67  --
Cleveland:  94-67  1/2
Boston:  93-69  2
Toronto:  89-73  6
Baltimore:  89-73  6
Detroit:  86-75  8 1/2
Seattle:  86-76  9
New York:  84-78  11
Houston:  84-78  11
Kansas City:  81-81  14
Chicago:  78-84  17
Los Angeles:  74-88  21
Oakland:  69-93  26
Tampa Bay:  68-94  27
Minnesota:  59-103  36

On the whole, it's been a dull season so far.  But if the World Series comes down to, say, Chicago and Cleveland -- or Chicago and Boston(!) -- this could end up being a very memorable season for at least some fans.

MLB Playoffs: Day 5

Yesterday was the day that the playoff teams ran out of pitching, and hits started flying all over the place.  Here were the results from a very dramatic day of baseball:

1.  The Royals trailed Houston 6-2 after seven innings, due in part to Carlos Correa, the Houston phenom who went 4-4 with two home runs.  But the Royals truly showed the caliber of champions, scoring seven runs in the last two innings -- on the road! -- to pull out a 9-6 victory.

2.  Speaking of caliber, the Blue Jays lost two games to Texas at home, including a 14-inning in heartbreaker.  But they have now responded with two wins in Texas, including an easy 8-4 win yesterday.

3.  The Cubs were counting on great pitching to stop St. Louis last night.  Instead, the Cubs won 8-6 behind a barrage of six home runs.  They look more and more like the Red Sox teams Theo Epstein built in the 2000's.  Meanwhile, the Cardinals are on the verge of missing the NLCS for the first time since 2010.

4.  The Dodgers faced a cauldron of rage and fury in New York after Chase Utley's controversial slide helped beat the Mets in Game 2.  As expected by anyone who has seen the Dodgers since Kirk Gibson retired, they promptly retreated into the fetal position, falling behind 10-3 after four innings, and putting up almost no resistance in a 13-7 loss.

These have really been some good playoffs so far, and all four series are still up for grabs:

National League Championship Series:
Chicago leads St. Louis 2-1
New York leads Los Angeles 2-1

American League Championship Series:
Kansas City and Houston are tied 2-2
Toronto and Texas are tied 2-2

MLB Standings: AL Version

The American League had an odd season.  Last year, the Angels, Tigers, and Orioles all made the playoffs -- none of them made it this year.  In 2013, the Red Sox became the last team from the Junior Circuit to win the World Series -- they had a losing record this year.  For most of 2014, the Athletics were one of the best teams in the AL -- this year, they had the worst record in the League.  And with the Yankees losing in last night's coin flip, I mean Wild-Card game, the Yankees will be joining the Red Sox, Angels, Tigers, and Athletics on the sidelines.  Instead, we get:

1.  The Kansas City Royals, who shocked everyone last year, but played even better this year.
2.  The Toronto Blue Jays, who haven't been to the playoffs since 1993.
3.  The Texas Rangers, who were terrible last year, but who got really hot at the end of this season.
4.  The Houston Astros, who are really a National League club.

Together, these four clubs have won a total of three World Series titles in history.

I'm rooting for a ALCS between Kansas City and Toronto, because 1985 was one of my favorite years ever.

Here are the final standings:

1.  Kansas City Royals:  95-67  ---
2.  Toronto Blue Jays:  93-69  2
3.  Texas Rangers:  88-74  7
4.  New York Yankees:  87-75  8
5.  Houston Astros:  86-76  9
6.  Los Angeles Angels:  85-77  10
7.  Minnesota Twins:  83-79  12
8.  Cleveland Indians:  81-80  13 1/2
9.  Baltimore Orioles:  81-81  14
10.  Tampa Bay Devil Rays:  80-82  15
11.  Boston Red Sox:  78-84  17
T12.  Chicago White Sox:  76-86  19
T12.  Seattle Mariners:  76-86  19
14.  Detroit Tigers:  74-87  20 1/2
15.  Oakland Athletics:  68-94  27

MLB Update

Hey, how about that exciting American League pennant race?  The Royals have been on top almost the whole year, but now their lead over the hard-charging Blue Jays is down to only two games.  Can Kansas City hold on for the title?

Oh, wait.  We don't have pennant races in baseball any more, because the people who run baseball know more about marketing that the folks in Europe who are managing the most popular sports leagues in the world.  So every soccer league in Europe has a pennant race, but we know better over here.  Bud Selig promised us that by letting more and more teams into the playoffs, more fans would have an interest in September baseball.

Well, here we are in mid-September, which used to be a time of high drama for baseball fans -- and there are almost no interesting games to watch.  The Royals, Blue Jays, Cardinals, Dodgers, and Mets have pretty much locked up their respective divisions, and the Yankees, Cubs, and Pirates have pretty much locked up the Wild Card spots.  The only question left is whether the Rangers or Astros will win the AL West -- but even here, there's not too much drama, because the other team is pretty much assured of a wild card spot.  Exciting!

The one thing we should comment on here is the magical power of Yeonis Cespedes.  Last year, for most of the season, the A's and the Nats were the two best teams in baseball.  At the close of play on July 30, 2014, the A's had a record of 66-41, which was the best record in the American League.  The next day, they traded Cespedes for Jon Lester, who was supposed to be the ace pitcher that would get them through the playoffs.  Instead, they went 22-33 the rest of the way, and just barely got a Wild Card.  In the Wild Card game, they staked Lester to a 7-3 lead after 5 1/2 innings, and then he was driven from the game after giving up three runs in the 8th.  The Royals ended up winning 9-8 in 12 innings, and went all the way to the World Series.  This year, the Royals have the best record in the AL, and the A's have the worst.  So long, thanks for playing.

But Cespedes wasn't done.  On July 30, 2015, the Washington Nationals had a record of 54-46, and led the NL East by three games over the New York Mets, who had a record of 52-50.  The next day, the Mets traded for Cespedes.  Since he arrived in New York, the Mets have gone 31-13, a winning percentage of 70.4 percent.  Meanwhile, the Nats have gone 21-25 -- and 0-6 in games against the Mets.  A few weeks ago, the Nats were four games behind the Mets, and were hosting a three-game set against New York.  Here's what happened:

1.  On Monday, September 7, Cespedes hit a home run and two doubles to lead the Mets to a come-from-behind 8-5 victory.

2.  On Tuesday, September 8, the Nats led 7-1 after six innings.  But in the seventh inning, Cespedes hit a three-run double that was critical to an 8-7 Mets win.

3. On Wednesday, September 9, the Nats and Mets were tied 2-all in the top of the 8th.  Cespedes  hit a two-run homer to put the Mets on top, and lead them to a 5-3 victory.  So long, thanks for playing.

And now the Nats, who were heavily favored to win their division -- and even the pennant -- at the beginning of the season, may be looking to break up their whole team.  In less than two years, Cespedes has single-handedly destroyed the A's and the Nats.

As always, the percentages below represent everyone's chances of making the divisional playoffs according to FanGraphs.  Take them for what their worth -- a few months ago, the Nats had a 90-something percent chance.  But that was B.C. (Before Cespedes).  Teams with less than a 10 percent chance are in italics:

NATIONAL LEAGUE
1.  St. Louis (97.4 %):  92-54  ---
2.  Pittsburgh (51.3 %):  87-59  5
3.  Chicago (51.2 %):  85-61  7
4.  Los Angeles (99.7 %):  84-61  7 1/2
5.  New York (99.2 %):  83-63  9
6.  San Francisco (0.3 %):  77-69  15
7.  Washington (0.8 %):  75-71  17
8.  Arizona (0.0 %):  69-77  23
9.  San Diego (0.0 %):  69-78  23 1/2
10.  Miami (0.0 %):  64-83  28 1/2
11.  Milwaukee (0.0 %):  62-84  30
12.  Cincinnati (0.0 %):  61-84  30 1/2
13.  Colorado (0.0 %):  61-85  31
14.  Atlanta (0.0 %):  57-90  35 1/2
15.  Philadelphia (0.0 %):  56-91  36 1/2

AMERICAN LEAGUE
1.  Kansas City (100.0 %):  86-60  ---
2.  Toronto (94.3 %):  84-62  2
3.  New York (56.9 %):  80-65  5 1/2
4.  Texas (80.0 %):  79-67  7
5.  Houston (49.7 %):  77-70  9 1/2
6.  Minnesota (5.2 %):  75-71  11
7.  Los Angeles (11.1 %):  74-72  12
8.  Cleveland (2.3 %):  72-73  13 1/2
9.  Baltimore (0.3 %):  72-74  14
10.  Seattle (0.2 %):  71-76  15 1/2
11.  Tampa Bay (0.0 %):  70-76  16
T12.  Chicago (0.0 %):  69-76  16 1/2
T12.  Boston (0.0 %):  69-76  16 1/2
14.  Detroit (0.0 %):  67-78  18 1/2
15.  Oakland (0.0 %):  63-84  23 1/2