AL Race 2016

[Frayed Knot]

OK this Yanqui thing is starting to get out of hand.
They've won 4 straight, including a sweep on previously 1st place Toronto, and are now 22-13 since dumping half their players at the deadline (Aug 1) and sit just 2 games out of the WC race (4th position for 2 spots) and also 4 games out of AL East lead although behind 3 other teams there too and with several others hot on their tail.
But they've consistently been winning series against other contending teams (Balt, KC, SEA, TOR) and now a bunch of the others are facing each other while Tampa visits the Bronx.
This sort of aggression can't not be allowed to stand.


EAST
Boston --
Toronto -1.0
Baltimore -2.0
Yanx -4.0


WC
Toronto +1.0
Baltimore --
Detroit -1.0
Yanx -2.0
Houston -2.5
Kansas City -4.0
Seattle -4.5


Match-ups this weekend:

Tampa @ Yanx which started with the Yanx winning in walk-off fashion Thursday night

Boston @ Toronto

Baltimore @ Detroit

Cubs @ Houston

KC @ ChiSox

Seattle @ Oakland

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Set up to be a positive weekend for the MFYs in almost any circumstance except them getting swept.

So, Go Rays.

[HahnSolo]

For all the grief Girardi gets from MFY fans, his teams have a habit of outperforming their pythagorean W/L. And this year is no exception.

[Frayed Knot]

Yeah, the freakin' Blue Jays had the chance to really bury them this past week with a sweep, or at least severely damage them by simply winning the series, but then totally blew up the whole thing by getting swept instead and not only are the Yanx in decent position in the WC hunt but the division is back in play as well.

[HahnSolo]

Frayed Knot wrote: Yeah, the freakin' Blue Jays had the chance to really bury them this past week with a sweep, or at least severely damage them by simply winning the series, but then totally blew up the whole thing by getting swept instead and not only are the Yanx in decent position in the WC hunt but the division is back in play as well.

I agree about the wild card. But jumping three teams to win the division will be tough.

[Frayed Knot]

HahnSolo wrote: I agree about the wild card. But jumping three teams to win the division will be tough.

Sure, but the fact that the AL East title is even in play for the Yanx is an embarrassment to the Jays who got swept after proving unable to hit a bunch of no-name MFY pitchers or keep from giving up crucial runs late.
And with everybody playing everybody else this weekend -- except for the Yanx -- I don't even know which way to root.

[MFS62]

Do what I do when the two teams that left New York play each other . Root for the meteor.

Later

[Frayed Knot]

Problem with rooting for the meteor is that it allows the Yanx to gain on each team that gets wiped out.


As the result of Friday night, Yanx are now just one game off a WC spot gaining full games on WC-leading Toronto (lost of 6 of their last 7) and T-2 Baltimore, and kept pace with the other T2 team Detroit.
They also kept pace with ALE-leading Boston and put some extra ground between them and chasing teams Houston & KC

[Frayed Knot]

So the Yanx (and, let's face it, their failure is my only interest here) won 2 of 3 vs TBR over the weekend (3 of 4 going back to Thursday) but remain the same distance back in the AL East (-4.0) and in the WC race (-2.0) as before.
They did make gains relative to Toronto (moving from 3 games back to just 2), Detroit (were back 1.0, now tied), and added some extra cushion above Houston (up 1.5 instead of 0.5) but Seattle swept their weekend in Oakland and so they moved a game closer to the Yanx (-2.5 to -1.5) and to the whole pack.



This week's AL match-ups see the Yanx getting a 3-game visit from the Dodgers who won 2 of 3 this weekend but still saw the Giants creep a bit closer. Suxx to have to root for the Blue here but we gotta.

Tampa goes to Toronto so maybe they'll wake the fuck up.

Baltimore & Boston go head to head at Fenway so another series where there's no bad result for the MFY

Houston sees the Rangers, who they can't beat: 3-13 this year!, for the final time this season.
And on the left coast the Mariners head to Anaheim; and it's KC's turn to beat up on Oakland



With 20 games left, Yanx have these 3 w/the Dodgers plus: Boston x 7; Baltimore x 3; Toronto x 4; and three more w/Tampa -- so they're going to have to earn their way in.

[Frayed Knot]

Nice of the Dodgers to take two of three while in the Bronx while the Sox & Orioles were beating up on each other. Dodger fans even came east with a large '7-Line Army' style group who turned the LF stands into a sea of blue. They displayed large Dodgers banners and even did their own 'Role Call' drill. Not sure if they all left by the 7th inning out of habit or not.


Orioles and Blue Jays currently hold on to the #1 & 2 WC slots, 1 & 2 games behind Boston in the East and 1 & 2 games ahead of Detroit in the WC.
This all despite the Jays continuing to suck (3-9 in Sept) but they've been balanced off by the Mariners and their 8-game winning streak which pushed them ahead of the Yanx and right behind the Tigers.


Yanx go to Fenway for four starting tonight giving the Sawx a prime chance to bury them.
Blue Jays head out to Anaheim starting tonight; O's have a four-game set with TB
Tigers finish up this afternoon with the Twins then go to Cleveland for the weekend where they still have a hail mary hope of the AL Central (Det - 6.0)
Mariners get a visit from Houston although the Astros keep trying to play themselves out of it by losing another series to Texas this week (4-15 on the year)
KC is technically out of things especially seeing as how they have another one with Oakland tonight then the ChiSox for the weekend


WC

Orioles +1.0
Blue Jays --
Tigers -1.0
Mariners -1.5
Yanx -2.0
Astros -2.5
Royals -5.0

[Frayed Knot]

Botox with [u:4qczz9k7]5 in the 9th[/u:4qczz9k7] just stunned Bettances & the Yanx to win 7-5
3R walkoff HR by Hanley Ramirez was the final stroke

[metirish]

Just catching the highlights, glorious

[Edgy MD]

Botox, huh? I guess that's Papi's secret.

[Frayed Knot]

What a fuckin' bomb that HR was!!
And it comes on a day when Detroit lost, KC lost, Baltimore lost, and where Boston obviously would have lost had the Yanx been able to hold the lead.
So instead of the Yanx gaining on all of them they instead gain on none and lose a game to the Sox, lose a half-game to idle Seattle, with Toronto still to be decided (playing on the west coast).

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

That's the best. He hit that thing sky-high and dead. They did most of it with 2 out.

[Lefty Specialist]

The best part of it is listening to the clip on ESPN. It's the YES feed, and John Sterling is absolutely crushed.

[Frayed Knot]

Good day on Friday if you root for an AL East contender ... unless that team is the Yanquis!!

BoSox beat the Yanx again although in less dramatic fashion than on Thursday; Orioles threw out the tying run at the plate w/2 outs in the 9th to survive Tampa; Blue Jays shut out the Angels late on the west coast
And this all coming on a night where Detroit, Seattle (breaking 8-game winning streak) and KC all lost which starts to widen the gap between the three AL East leaders and the rest of the pack.

Jays & O's tied for the WC, 2.0 games back of division leading Boston
Tigers & Mariners knotted at 3 games out of WC slots
Yanx & Astros tied at 4 back
and the defending champeen KC Royals are not only 7 games behind but they have to make up that ground AND leap at least 5 teams while doing so

[Frayed Knot]

And the Sox complete the four-game sweep - coming from behind once again (Yanx led 4-0. lost 5-4).
Basically, Hanley Ramirez kicked their asses this week. He had the Dagger! HR in that stunning 9th inning comeback the other day. Tonight he merely had the 3R HR that tied it and later the solo shot that won it.

After going an inexplicable 24-13 following their sell-off at the trading deadline, the Yanx have finally come back to earth by losing 8 of their last 9.
And considering how many of these games lately they've lost in late innings, they better hope those deals they made pay off down the road because they absolutely punted away a post-season spot this year.

[Guest Rockin' Doc]

Hanley Ramirez -"Yankee Killer".

Now that's a card Zvon should make.

[MFS62]

When was the last time Tampa beat the MFYs?
You may round your answer to the nearest 5 years.

500 pound gorilla in the corner comment:
If will really hurt if (shudder) the MFYs make the playoffs and the Mets don't.

Later

[Benjamin Grimm]

It's not like THAT'S never happened before.

[MFS62]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: It's not like THAT'S never happened before.

Granted, but considering the pre-season predictions and early season performances for both teams, it would be a shocker.

Later

[Frayed Knot]

MFS62 wrote: When was the last time Tampa beat the MFYs? You may round your answer to the nearest 5 years.

Well at the moment the answer is last night. Also 8 times of the 19 this season so it's not quite so bad as it sometimes seems.


As for the rest of that league's races ...
- after Boston did the four game sweep thing of the Yanx last weekend they followed it up by sweeping Baltimore four straight. The result is that the AL East, which had been so close for so long, got all blow’d up and the Red Sox lead by 5.5, 7.0, and 9.5 games and are pretty much in cruise control the rest of the way home.
None of the other divisions -- Cleveland by 7.0; Texas by 9.0 -- are in doubt either.
The other development is that the sweep drops the Orioles out of a playoff spot for the first time all season.


WC Standings

TOR +1.0
DET - - -
BAL - 0.5
HOU - 1.5
SEA - 2.0
NYY - 3.0
KCR - 5.5


Yanx at Blue Jays is the big head to head matchup this weekend -- one I'd feel better about if the Jays didn't like totally suck lately (7-12 in Sept) -- but also one that’s a ‘wrap-around’ series which goes through to Monday.
After the Jays — and you figure the Yanx will need to win at least three of the four — they’ll host Boston & Baltimore for three each to close things outs (with no off days) so if they want to play past next Sunday they’re going to have to earn it.
They also need to go 3-7 or better to keep their string of winning seasons alive.

And, for the first time in a while, they won’t have the luxury of having teams in front of them all beating up on each other.
The Orioles hope the visiting Diamondbacks are a cure for their ills
Royals at Tigers - and I think it’s past time to put any hopes of a repeat championship to bed
Mariners get their turn to beat up on the Twins (9-31 over their last 40)
Astros host Angels
Red Sox @ Rays

[Frayed Knot]

Friday was a nice night in the AL race too as the Yanx got trounced by Toronto while everyone above them with the exception of Houston won.
Not completely dead yet but 4.0 games out and, more importantly, with five teams ahead of them for the two spots.

[Frayed Knot]

So the Yanqui game was fun this afternoon (even if our isn't).
Scoreless in the 8th at Toronto; Tyler Clippard on for the Yanx and quickly gets the first two outs in the bottom half, then comes a single and a walk ... then comes the three-run BOMB from Joey Bats.
That's [u:1r5gay98]three[/u:1r5gay98] shutouts in a row and 9 losses of their last 11, all of which came on the heels of their 7-game winning streak which put them right in the mix.

[Frayed Knot]

So the Yanx, down 2-1 entering the 9th, score twice to take the lead on Toronto.
But then after Bettances walks the leadoff hitter (after starting 0-2) he was pulled in favor of Tyler Clippard due to a combination of the tough 8th inning Bettances pitched (nearly 30 pitches) and his inability to hold on runners. A single, a safety squeeze/bunt single, a K, an IW, and another single later and Clippard had blown his second game of this series and sends the Yanx to their 4th straight loss.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

CLOLippard

[Fman99]

MFYs elimination number is down to two. It's just a matter of time.

[Ceetar]

Fman99 wrote: MFYs elimination number is down to two. It's just a matter of time.

79-76 I'm still rooting for the losing season.

[Frayed Knot]

Ceetar wrote: 79-76 I'm still rooting for the losing season.

Yup!


Stuff I missed on the AL side yesterday, BoSox pitchers struck out 23 Rays in a 10-inning game, including K's on 17 straight outs in a row at one point (with a couple of walks, HBP, singles mixed in).

I don't think this qualifies as any kind of record both because of the extra inning (2 of the 3 outs in the 10th were Ks) and because it was accomplished by six different pitchers (13, 5, 1, 0, 4).
Someone named Heath Hembree K'd all five batters he faced, and then of course was replaced by someone else.
This game is both a sign of the year and of the time of year.