Keep your eye on baseball this fall

By Andrew Neumann
Collegian Staff
September 12, 2007

This time of year, the NFL is king. No one contests that, least of all me. But if you happen to find yourself with a few minutes to spare on any other day but Sunday, I’d suggest taking a look at what’s developing down the stretch in Major League Baseball.

While a superficial look at the standings would indicate that most of the divisional races are all but over with about 20 games to play, there are several interesting subplots evolving and still some races to be determined.

We begin in the American League East and the Red Sox lead that seems to grow and shrink like Oprah Winfrey. The division race has been declared over more times than David Wells’ career. At press time, Boston’s lead stands at 5.5 games over the Yankees.

However, by the time this issue comes out, the lead could be as much as eight games, or as few as two, and neither would be a surprise. The Red Sox have been tepid for the better part of the summer, but built themselves enough of a lead in April and May that they could afford such a dip. Right behind them are the New York Yankees. Declared dead as early as June, the Yankees have been one of baseball’s hottest teams since the All-Star break, and currently own a four-game lead in the American League Wild Card chase.

Surprisingly, the Yankees have accomplished a great deal of their success due to younger players. Melky Cabrera has emerged as the everyday centerfielder, and the starting rotation now features young guns Phillip Hughes and Ian Kennedy. The real young force for the Yankees, however, has been the relief work of Joba Chamberlain, who is yet to allow a run in roughly 15 relief appearances.

On the veteran front, Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada are having very good seasons. Oh, and Alex Rodriguez has over 50 home runs and 130 RBIs and may be having the greatest year a right-handed hitter has ever had for the Yankees. Ultimately, both the Yanks and Red Sox will be playing ball in October, with the Red Sox likely holding onto their division lead and the Yankees being the Wild Card.

In the American League Central, the Indians appear poised to make their first trip to the playoffs since 2000. The Indians are an example of a team that rebuilt the right way. In essence, they said they were going to lose a lot for a few years, but would rebuild. They have. Their lead on Detroit seems to grow every day, and Cleveland doesn’t seem fazed by growing expectations.

In the West, the story is the same as usual: Anaheim. The Angels possess an excellent record, superb hitting and one of baseball’s best closers in Francisco Rodriguez. Their question marks lie in the starting rotation, where injuries have hobbled a normally superior staff. The Angels are slated to be the number two seed right now, meaning a likely first-round matchup with the Yankees, whom they own.

In the Senior Circuit, the Mets, despite a recent four-game sweeping at the hands of the Phillies, have locked up their second straight divisional crown. The real intrigue lies in the other two divisions.

In the NL Central, three teams all have a shot to take the division. None of these three teams have spectacular records, but are in the hunt nonetheless. The Brewers, who led for the early part of their season, went into a swoon and saw the Cubs overtake them in the standings before leveling out with them this week. Last year’s World Champions, the St. Louis Cardinals, were doormats most of the year, but got hot enough to make a charge and currently sit at only 2.5 games back. The guess is that the Cubs, who play mostly the Reds and Pirates down the stretch, will eek out the division.

In the West, four teams can purport to having a shot at the divisonal crown, but the Rockies and Dodgers, roughly five games out of first, are on the cusp of not being considered contenders anymore. The two uber-contenders in the mix are the surprising Arizona Diamondbacks and the San Diego Padres, currently 2.5 back of Arizona. San Diego currently leads the Wild Card Race by two games over the Phillies. It looks like Arizona will take the West, and San Diego and Philly will duke it out until the end.

So even though a lot of these races appear over, there is still some interesting baseball to be played in the next few weeks before we flip the page into October.

neumanna1@lasalle.edu