Other Races in Other Places

[Frayed Knot]

When your team is in the midst of a race it's easy to lose sight of what else is going on in the rest of the league (the 1986 ALCS was great but few in NYC-area know that).
But there is some fun stuff going on elsewhere.


NL Central:
Cards still have MLB's best record but they just lost 2 of 3 to the Cubs and they are less secure on their perch than we are in ours.
They've got a 4.5 game lead on the Pirates and 7.5 on the Cubs. Of the two losers in that race still have the WC to fall back on but the new rules make that poor substitute for winning the division.
Cards have one series left with each team. Pitt & Cubs have two against each other.

NL West:
Dodgers have just about sewn up (8.5 game lead) due as much to the Giants falling apart (7-14) as it is to their own hot streak (13-3)
4 head-to-head remain in SF but not until the penultimate series of the year


AL East:
Jays (26-9 since Aug 1) with a 1.5 game lead heading into a 4-game series in da Bronx with three more next week in Toron'o
The loser here still has a leg up on the 1st WC slot but not a guaranteed one so if this turns into a rout (especially for you know who) the rout-ee risks an early vacation.

AL Central:
Boooooorrrrrrring. Royals with the best record in the AL (by 4 games) and an 11 game lead over 2nd place Minnesota (yes, Minnesota).
And how about those last place Tigers?

AL West:
Maybe the most fun race anywhere as it's coming down to a Texas shoot-out (just what Bud Selig wanted when he strong-armed the Astros to the AL)
The ready before anyone expected Astros have a 2-game lead on the Rangers who might be even a bigger surprise given all their early season injuries.
Also the Angels are hanging around the fringes - 5.5 behind Houston, 3.5 in back of Texas
And Houston has 13 of their next 16 games against those 2 teams starting in Anaheim tomorrow

[Frayed Knot]

Teixeira joins Nathan Eovaldi in the Yanx missing the rest of the season category. That means full time work for recent call-up Greg Bird.
Their other recent call-up Luis Severino faces David Price tonight in the first of four games vs Blue Jays.

Other race games this weekend: Astros @ Angels; Dodgers @ Arizona; Cubs @ Phils x2; Pirates host Brewers, Rangers host Oakland

The AL WC race is a train wreck so I don't even want to try and figure that one out.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I have an easier time, and have from the beginning, of accepting the Brewers in the National League than the Astros in the American League. I'm rooting against them; if the Mets get to the World Series this year I'd rather they didn't play the Astros; it wouldn't seem like a World Series. I'd rather see Kansas City or Toronto.

[Guest sharpie]

Mets-Toronto would pit the biggest city in the US vs. the biggest city in Canada.

[Frayed Knot]

sharpie wrote: Mets-Toronto would pit the biggest city in the US vs. the biggest city in Canada.

And in one city people can take the A train while in the other they take the train, ay.

[Ceetar]

Frayed Knot wrote: sharpie wrote: Mets-Toronto would pit the biggest city in the US vs. the biggest city in Canada. And in one city people can take the A train while in the other they take the train, ay.

Toronto's close enough for the fantasy of going to an away Mets World Series game. (if I didn't have a 1 year old)

[Frayed Knot]

Jays jumped all over Severino for 5 in the 1st inning.
But then Toronto pulled Price after 5 with a 9-2, which then quickly turned into a 9-5 lead courtesy of LaTroy Hawkins.
Nearly 3 hours in and they're only to the top of the 7th there.

oe: but Russell Martin's 2nd HR of the day makes it 11-5 and hopefully puts an idea of a comeback to bed

Edited September 11, 2015 by Guest

[Guest Mets � Willets Point]

Hawkins and Colon, keeping me younger than the oldest MLB players.

[Frayed Knot]

Didn't have much of an effect on the pennant races (other than to keep Baltimore's slim WC hopes alive - 6 out with 4 teams in the way) but the Orioles hit 2 Grand Slams in the 8th inning last night making them the first team to hit 2 Grannies in one inning since .... ?

Why since the 2006 Mets of course - July 16, 2006 in Wrigley. Cliff Floyd off of Sean Marshall, then later Carlos Beltran off of Roberto Novoa (no memory of him) in what turned out to be an 11-run 6th inning.
Wright also had a 2R HR.
Chris Woodward led off the inning and made the 1st and later the 2nd outs in the inning and was two batters away from coming up again when Ramon Castro ended things with a fly out w/2 on.
Mets were trailing 5-2 as the inning started. Went on to win 13-7
Pedro Feliciano 'vultured' the win.




Other than that, the Cubs won twice & the Pirates once closing in on the Cardinals who will have two game results today as they finish up yesterday's suspended game (tied 2-2 in the 8th) and then play their regular game vs Cincy. Pitt & the Cubbies are 4 & 6 games out. Would love to see one or both of them drop StL into the WC mess.



Astros lose, Rangers win (now just 1.5 games out) and the whole AL WC race tightened up a bit.

[Frayed Knot]

Cardinals are losers of 8 of their last 10 including 3 straight to the lowly Reds and are getting blown out in many of these (4 of their recent losses were by 6 or more runs).
Probably TLTL for us to catch them for best NL record (7 games behind) but they're suddenly only 2.5 games up on the Pirates and 5.5 on the Cubs. Would love to see them dropped into the WC mix.


Houston also in the midst of a losing September (3-7) and are down to a 1.5 game lead over Texas and 3.5 over LAA in what's looking like the best division race coming down the stretch.

But the most fun in the AL is that the Yanx dropped a pair Saturday to fall 4.5 in back of the Jays and now the security of the WC suddenly doesn't look as secure as it did a week ago. Still have a 4 or more game cushion from being dropped out of the PS entirely but there are numerous teams just waiting to do so: Minn, LAA, Cleve, Tampa
And maybe the best thing about our series with them next weekend is that while they have almost no chance of ruining our season, we could have a big say in trashing theirs. After today's game with Toronto they get TB, then us, then Toronto again at which point things could be getting ugly in the Bronx.

[Guest Mets Guy in Michigan]

And how about those last place Tigers?

The talk here is that Tigers Manager Brad Ausmus is getting the ax, and will be replaced by former Met Ron Gardenhire.

Ausmus is getting a bit of a raw deal. Tigers let Scherzer walk away, Verlander was hurt early on, Cabrera was hurt mid-season and their second-best player is leading us to the postseason.

Seems to me that when you pick a guy with zero prior managing experience, you need to give him a year just to figure out what he's doing. Granted the GM who hired him was pushed out and new GM probably wants his own guy in there. But still seems unfair.

[Frayed Knot]

Mets Guy in Michigan wrote: Seems to me that when you pick a guy with zero prior managing experience, you need to give him a year just to figure out what he's doing.

Or that if you have a team you think should be contending that maybe you shouldn't pick a guy with zero prior managing experience.
See also: Rizzo, Mike - Washington DC





The Astros on Sunday won a game a lot like we did -- 3 runs down in 9th on the road, 2-out/none-on -- but did so with much more on the line as their lead is far smaller than ours and they did it against one of the teams hot on their tail.
Closer Huston Street for the Angels got the first two hitters but then went: HR, 3B, 1B, 1B, 3R-HR for a five-run 9th (they didn't bother with that whole extra innings stuff).

Astros at Rangers for four games starting tonight. 1.5 game lead for Houston. Angels 4.5 back go to Seattle.

[Frayed Knot]

Prince Fielder's 2R HR in the 8th beats the Astros and brings the Rangers to within 1/2 game in the AL West and allows them to keep pace with the Yanx for the #1 WC spot (-3.0)
Meanwhile the Angels were getting thumped by the Mariners just one day after their 9th inning meltdown in Houston. All of which drops them to 4.5 back, behind two teams, and having to face King Felix tonight in Seattle.



In addition to the continuation of the Texas shoot-out, the big game(s) today is a Pitt-v-Cubs Day/Night DH
Am definitely pulling for Pitt since they're closer to the Cards (-2.5) and I'd love to see them Birds knocked off their perch. Chicago wins are essentially StL wins at this point.

[Gwreck]

Frayed Knot wrote: Am definitely pulling for Pitt since they're closer to the Cards (-2.5) and I'd love to see them Birds knocked off their perch.

The heart agrees.

The head says Pittsburgh is the more dangerous team for the Mets in a hypothetical NLCS matchup, and I'd rather that the Pirates get stuck (and possibly eliminated) in the Wild Card game.

[Ceetar]

Gwreck wrote: Frayed Knot wrote: Am definitely pulling for Pitt since they're closer to the Cards (-2.5) and I'd love to see them Birds knocked off their perch. The heart agrees. The head says Pittsburgh is the more dangerous team for the Mets in a hypothetical NLCS matchup, and I'd rather that the Pirates get stuck (and possibly eliminated) in the Wild Card game.

just for varieties sake I don't want it to be the Cardinals after we dispatch the Dodgers.

[Frayed Knot]

Tough week for Pitt & Houston

- Pirates lose 3 of 4 to the Cubs dropping their odds of taking the Central considerably (now 5.0 out) and also weakened their hold on the 1st WC slot as they're just 2 ahead of Chicago.
They also lost SS/3B Jung Ho Kang for the season w/a leg injury following a take-out slide, a slide that looked aggressive but clean to me although slider Chris Coughlin did get his leg up a bit. Coughlin's also the guy who took out Posey leading to the plate-blocking rules changes. Dude's gonna get a rep.
And after this series the Buccos had to fly to LA to face the Dodgers.

By contrast it was a good week for StL who were sweeping the Brewers while the 3rd place Cubs were winning their series giving them a bigger cushion vs both.
Cards are at Wrigley this weekend but with a mostly comfy 7-game lead.




- Houston suffered a devastating four-game sweep to Texas dropping them with a thud from 1.5 games up to 2.5 back and with a tenuous hold on the 2nd WC (+1.5 over Minn, 2.5 over LAA). And yet despite the huge gain for the Rangers, somehow I imagine the big sports story in Dallas deals with whatever Tony Romo had for lunch yesterday.
The two Texas teams have one series remaining next week, but at 4-12 for the season series so far, the Astros can't depend too much on that one.
For this weekend: Houston hosts Oakland; Texas hosts Seattle; LAA & Minnesota play each other.



Yanx have a 4-game lead over WC #2 and 5.5 & 7.5 over the threat of being dropped entirely.



- Giants (-7.5) are just about as dead as the Nationals
- and while the Royals have been stumbling lately (6-10 in September) I think their 11 game lead makes them pretty safe

[Edgy MD]

Strange, but even though it's an inter league series, I get the idea that the Mets have to go with an A lineup all three three games.

That Texas-Houston sweep was remarkable. Barabara Bush must be pissed. First she found out that Jeb was a stoner, and now this.

[Edgy MD]

Hey, Cardinals. For Pete's sake, don't piss off the Cubs.

[Guest Mets � Willets Point]

Listened to the end of the Red Sox - Blue Jays game on the radio in the car. The whole family got psyched to hear the Sox rally from behind in the ninth inning to win. I was quietly bummed that the Sox win helped the Yankees.

[Elster88]

St. Louie is the first team to clinch a playoff spot

9/19 - Wildcard

[Frayed Knot]

Price & the Jays leading the Yanx 3-0 in the 5th. But with this pitching matchup (Adam Warren for NYY) this was essentially Toronto's 'Gimme' game anyway so they should be putting it away.
Should the Yanx manage to 'steal' this one it would really throw that division up for grabs.



The big series for this week is Angels @ Astros
A lopsided loss for either one of those might knock them out of post-season.

[Frayed Knot]

Price's relievers trying hard to blow his game for him.
At 4-0 heading into the 8th, Price was gone and the Yanx promptly got a run in and 2-on, tying run at the plate and still no one out.
But Brett Cecil K'd Gardner, ARod, then McCann to end the threat.

[Guest Rockin' Doc]

Frayed Knot wrote: Price's relievers trying hard to blow his game for him. At 4-0 heading into the 8th, Price was gone and the Yanx promptly got a run in and 2-on, tying run at the plate and still no one out. But Brett Cecil K'd Gardner, ARod, then McCann to end the threat.

Brett Cecil is now one of my favorite players.

[Edgy MD]

I was a little disturbed when I learned they were combining George Brett's DNA with Cecil Cooper's to create a designer ballplayer, but it seems to have worked out well.

[Frayed Knot]

Dioneer Navarro (one time MFY farmhand) HR's off Andrew Miller to tie the game w/one out in the 9th in Toronto.
[crossout:2nkq8s75]First[/crossout:2nkq8s75] HR allowed by Miller this season.

Actually 4th HR by Miller. Note to self: don't take the initial word from overly-excited Blue Jays announcers

[Frayed Knot]

And they're going to extras in Toronto.
Jays left bases-loaded in both the 8th & 9th, but the Yanx had a runner thrown out at the plate in top-9 so they're going at it both ways here [cue FMan joke here]

[Elster88]

9/19 - Wildcard	9/23 - Wildcard

[Elster88]

First division winner.

9/19 - Wildcard	9/23 - Wildcard	9/24 - AL Central

[Elster88]

Blue Jays win and Astros lose so the Jays clinch a postseason spot. If the Giants lose the Cubs will back in to a playoff spot today.

9/19 - Wildcard	9/23 - Wildcard	9/24 - AL Central	9/26 - Wildcard	9/26 - Wildcard

Giants lose. All the NL Central teams are locked in.

[Frayed Knot]

The odds of the Yanx missing out of even the WC are almost nonexistent at this point.
I was going to suggest rooting like hell for both the Astros and/or Angels, but the problem is that, short of a run-the-table finish by Minnesota [6 full games behind the Yanx] [u:2mmfpqn7]all three[/u:2mmfpqn7] of the AL West contending teams would have to finish ahead of the Yanx. But with six head-to-head games remaining that's all but impossible and the best you can hope for is that two of those three finish ahead and force the Yanx to hit the road of the play-in game.

The Astros, who have all but mathematically blown their shot at winning the west (4.5 back) thanks almost entirely to losing five straight to the Rangers in September and 13 of 17 overall, finish with 2 more vs Texas than 3 each with Seattle & Arizona

The Angels, sitting just 1/2 game behind Houston, have 2 with Seattle, 3 w/Oakland, and then close it out with 4 in Texas

So that means there'll be a minimum of six losses among those teams in some combo or another. In other words: GO TWINS!!!