Last months of Baseball

The MLB regular season is just a month and a half from being over. It seems that the heat is on and that minor things can make a big difference. Let's see how eveything is.

In the AL, it seems like the Yankees have a commanding lead over the AL east of 5.5 games over the Red Sox. Yanks sweeping the Sox may have done them in for the division. However there are still 7 games left in the rivalry and anything could happen. Boston would need a big performance in the coming week to try and catch up with New York. Tampa seems lost for the east but could catch up the wild card. Regretably I think the Yanks will win the division.

AL Central has Detroit ahead by 2 games over the White Sox while the Twins are 5 games behind. I could see Guillen's club making a rebound now that they have Alex Rios though they may need pitching more than hitting. Minnesota may not make it as they are 4 games under .500. I think the Tigers will edge out the division but the White Sox could win just as well.

AL west has the Angels up 5 games over the Rangers. I'm amazed by the Rangers in the recent years. They are able to put up a fight for a playoff berth but seem to fall short every year. The Mariners seem out of it being behind 9 games. I think the Angels will once agin win the AL West.

For the Al Wild Card, I will say Red Sox. They are only 1.5 games up over the Rangers and they could shock the world by gettng in and Tampa Bay coulg get it as well. The Red Sox I think are better built and will eventually get back to winning. Not only that but the AL east usually gets the wild card lately.

For the NL now, the east has the Phillies in front of the Marlins by 3.5 games and the Braves by 4.5 games. Philly could get dethroned if they don't start picking up the pace. I think they will edge it out with Cliff Lee but they could pull off a Met's catastrophe if not careful.

The NL Central has the Cardinals in front of the Cubs by 3 games. I think it is between those two classic rivals. I don't see the Brewers coming back. I do think the Cardinals will win the division over the Cubs. They got Matt Holliday in a trade and he is doing great and Pujols is still the best in the league despite people saying he was in a slump. They got Pitching and Hitting.

The NL west has the Dodgers in front of the Rockies by 6.5 games and the Giants 7.5 games. I think the Dodgers have this division and it will take a breakdown in all departments of their team for the Rockies or the Giants to win it.

As for the NL wild card, this is tight. The Rockies lead for now over the Giants by a game with the Marlins behind 2 games and the Braves and Cubs 3 games behind. The wild card could go to any team. I hope for the Giants but this is truely anyone's playoff spot right now.

I do have a special prediction. I predict that at least one more name will be released from that 2003 list. I hope that it won't happen but lets face it, this source truely hates doing the right thing and keeping their mouth shut.