MLB Week in review 8/6-8/14
There are less than 50 games left in the season and this is when baseball gets real good. I know a lot of you have already given up on Baseball either becasue you got distracted by the USA dominating the Olympics or because Football has started and you would rather care about exhibition games and your fantasy team then the playoff push, but you are missing some great baseball.
He's on fire
This is the time time of the year when the good players stand up and earn their paycheck and help their team make it into the playoffs. Some players are always so good that they never get mentioned for having a great week, even though at the end of the year they have fantastic numbers. This week there were 5 players that stood out for their great performance.
The best performance of the week goes to Manny Machado who was called up from AA ball to play third base for the Orioles. People thought he may have been called up too early, but he proved them very wrong by hitting 3 home runs with 7 rbi's and a .375 avg. If he keeps this up, we could be looking at the new full-time third baseman for the Orioles.
Chase Headley picked a great time to pick his game up. He is a free agent in the off-season and now is the time to play well to get teams to notice you. He had 4 hr's and 13 rbi's in the last week and if he can keep this up, he will be looking at a huge contract in the off-season. People thought Josh Hamilton was in a slump and had regressed and he answered those critics by blasting 3 hr's with 9 rbi's all while hitting .476 over the last week.
Alex Gordan and Billy Butler hit a combined 6 hr's, with 10 rbi's and hit a combined .350. I group them together becasue they got to face Oriole's pitching for 4 games, so the numbers are a little inflated, but still, a great week for both of them.
Not all of the pitching was awful Cole Hamels was able to earn 2 wins in 18 IP with a 0.0 ERA and .72 Whip. Alex Cobb was also able to get 2 wins with 12 strikeouts while notching a 1.29 ERA. Justin Masterson, who appears to be pitching just to show other teams they need to trade for him, notched 2 wins with a 1.38 ERA.
As the pennant race heats up, now is the time teams want to play good ball. The Nationals are 9-1 in their last 10 games and Tampa is 8-2 in that span. Not to be outdone, the Orioles and Dodgers are both 7-3. It is no coincidence that all 4 of these teams are right in the thick of the pennant chase.
Leader of the Pack
The Yankees hold a 5 game lead in the AL East and the way they are playing, it looks like they will hold on and win that division leaving everyone else in that division to play for the wild card. The White Sox hold a 2 game lead over the Tigers, but I do not think that lead is safe. I feel that by the end of the year, the Tigers will win the central and will leave the White Sox fighting for the wild card. The Rangers hold a 6 game in the AL West and there is no way that the Angels or Athletics will be able to catch them.
What that all means in the AL is that Tampa, Baltimore, Detroit, Chicago, LA, and Oakland will all be fighting for two wild card spots. The two wild card teams will play in a one-game playoff for the right to make it into the actual playoffs. Currently, Tampa and Baltimore are tied for the lead with 4 teams within 7 games of that top spot. This will be a great race and most likely will come down to the final two days of the season.
In the National League, the Nationals have opened up a 5.5 game lead on the Braves. The nationals have that look of a team that could go very, very far this year. Right now, depending on excatly what they do with Strasburg, I see them as the best team in the league and the World Series favorite. In the Central, the Reds hold a 5 game lead on the Pirates and a 7 game lead on the Cardinals. Cincinatti is without a doubt one of the best players and they are still playing great baseball. They will hold on and win this division. In the West, we have a real battle. The Dodgers and Giants are tied for first and the Diamondbacks are only 4.5 games back. Giants/Dodgers is one of the best rivalries in the history of baseball and this year will just add fuel to that fire.
The NL Wild card is just as crowded as the AL. Atlanta and Pitt are tied for the lead and thy have 4 teams within 6 games of that top spot. At the end, I see Atlanta and the 2nd place finisher of the West getting the top two spots.
What to watch now that the Olympics are over
If the Orioles want to prove they belong, this will be a week for them to show it. They take on Boston and Detroit. Both teams are in the wild card race with them and a losing week could take Baltimore right out of the wild card lead..
Pittsburgh hosts LA and then travels off to St. Louis. The Pirates hold a 1.5 game lead over the Dodgers and a 2 game lead over the Cardinals in the wild card, so if they would to sweep both series, that would really help their playoff push. After facing San Diego, Atlanta then hosts the Dodgers. Every one of these games is crucial to the wild card race
In two possible playoff previews, The Rangers travel to New York and Washington heads to SF. These are 4 of the best teams in baseball and these should both be great series. Washington ends the week hosting the MEts, and they need to win that series to stay on top of the East.
Cincinnati has an easy week and they should win both series if not sweep them both. They host the Mets and then the Cubs. The Cubs are 16-42 on the road this year.
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