The Races, 9/17/07 Update

The Divisions

AL East
Red Sox ~ 90-60 ~ --
Yankees ~ 85-64 ~ 4.5 (9)
Blue Jays ~ 74-75 ~ 15.5 (E)
Orioles ~ 64-84 ~ 25.0 (E)
Devil Rays ~ 63-87 ~ 27.0 (E)

AL Central
Indians ~ 87-62 ~ --
Tigers ~ 83-67 ~ 4.5 (9)
Twins ~ 72-77 ~ 15.0 (E)
Royals ~ 64-84 ~ 22.5 (E)
White Sox ~ 64-85 ~ 23.0 (E)

AL West
Angels ~ 87-62 ~ --
Mariners ~ 78-70 ~ 8.5 (6)
Athletics ~ 74-77 ~ 14.0 (E)
Rangers ~ 70-79 ~ 17.0 (E)

Thoughts: Nothing to report in the East. The Blue Jays had a terrible week and were officially eliminated earlier than I thought they would be. The Yankees won 2-out of-3 in Fenway but only moved up one game in the standings. And those Orioles are still holding fast over the Devil Rays. Both teams had surprisingly good weeks this past week ... As hot as the Indians have been, the Tigers actually made up some ground this week. They cut the AL Central lead from 6.0 games to 4.5. With a series against the Indians coming up on Monday, the Tigers have a chance to eat into the division race if they can pull off a sweep. The disappointing Twins were officially eliminated after a bad weekend series against the Tigers. ... The AL West remains one of the most uninteresting divisions in baseball. The Mariners lost another half-game to the Angels. Meanwhile, the Athletics and Rangers were both officially eliminated. Hohum.

NL East:
Mets ~ 83-65 ~ --
Phillies ~ 80-69 ~ 3.5 (11)
Braves ~ 76-73 ~ 7.5 (7)
Nationals ~ 66-83 ~ 17.5 (E)
Marlins ~ 65-84 ~ 18.5 (E)

NL Central:
Cubs ~ 78-72 ~ --
Brewers ~ 76-72 ~ 1.0 (13)
Cardinals ~ 70-78 ~ 7.0 (7)
Reds ~ 68-81 ~ 9.5 (4)
Pirates ~ 66-83 ~ 11.5 (2)
Astros ~ 65-84 ~ 12.5 (1)

NL West:
Diamondbacks ~ 84-66 ~ --
Padres ~ 81-67 ~ 2.0 (12)
Dodgers ~ 79-70 ~ 4.5 (9)
Rockies ~ 77-72 ~ 6.5 (7)
Giants ~ 66-83 ~ 17.5 (E)

Thoughts: You know, if the Mets are that determined to make this a race in the NL East, I'm sure the Phillies would be happy to oblige. The Mets had a terrible week, getting swept at home by the Phillies over the weekend and cutting their lead in the NL East down from 6.0 games to 3.5. The Phillies will have to lose a game here or there at some point, but the Mets need to keep some momentum going until the end of the season or the Phillies will creep even closer. The Braves picked up a game in the division, but they're still pretty much out of it. The Nationals were officially eliminated. ... Strike that, reverse it. As has been the case in the NL Central these last few weeks, the Brewers and Cubs again switched places. The Brewers went from being a game up on the Cubs to being a game down. The Cardinals, meanwhile, went from being strong contenders in the Central to falling out of the race completely. This time last week, the were 3.0 games behind. One week later, they're 7.0 games behind. Yikes. ... The Diamondbacks are still ahead in the West, but they lost a little ground on a 2-out of-3 loss to the Dodgers over the weekend. The D-backs are now two games in front of the Padres and 4.5 games in front of the Dodgers, losing one game in both. The Rockies lost a half-game in the division after facing that tough Phillies team. The Giants, meanwhile, were officially eliminated.

The Wild Cards

American League
Yankees ~ 85-64 ~ --
Tigers ~ 83-67 ~ 2.5 (11)
Mariners ~ 78-70 ~ 6.5 (8)
Blue Jays ~ 74-75 ~ 11.0 (3)
Athletics ~ 74-77 ~ 12.0 (1)

Thoughts: The only other team not eliminated in the Wild Card race in the AL at the moment is the Twins, who also are one game from elimination. ... It's hard to say the Yankees had an awful week. They lost one game to Toronto and one game to Boston. The problem is that the Tigers don't seem to be losing at all of late, and they had a monster week to make up ground in the Wild Card. Last week, they were 4.0 games out of the WC. This week, they're 2.5 games back. Now, it'll be the Tigers' turn to follow up the Yankees' series with Boston and head into Cleveland for three games against the division-leading Indians. The Yankees, meanwhile, need to take advantage of a far easier three game series against the Orioles. 2-out of-3 is a must in the Brox. ... The Mariners lost another 1.5 games in the Wild Card and stand 6.5 back. Too few games to play, I think.

National League
Padres ~ 81-67 ~ --
Phillies ~ 80-69 ~ 1.5 (13)
Dodgers ~ 79-70 ~ 2.5 (12)
Rockies ~ 77-72 ~ 4.5 (10)
Brewers ~ 76-72 ~ 5.0 (10)

Thoughts: As hot as the Phillies were over the weekend, the Padres picked the right time to pick up some games. Amazingly, they only lost a half-game to the Phillies this week and are maintaining a 1.5 game lead. ... Even more amazing, the Dodgers kept right on pace, remaining 2.5 games out in the chase for the Wild Card. ... The Rockies were unfortunate to face the Phillies when they did, losing 1.5 games in the Wild Card race. ... And, even after taking 2-of-3 from the Nationals, the Braves aren't even in the top five contending teams anymore. The Brewers have replaced them, a long-shot at 5.0 games out.

Key series of the week:
Tigers @ Indians (Mon-Wed)
Dodgers @ Rockies (Tue-Thu) [double-header Tuesday]
Brewers @ Braves (Fri-Sun)
Dodgers @ Diamondbacks (Fri-Sun)
Rockies @ Padres (Fri-Sun)