AL Wild Card

[Yanksfantoo]

Well atleast one of you is confident about your team.

Some of the people on the other thread have thrown

in the towel already, and you're still ahead.

 

Frankly I never give up on my team. No reason to --

statistically they pull through for me most of the time.

 

Our pitching is good, our hitting is good. The Yankees

want this bad......it will be an interesting end of the season

series!! I can't wait!

[riverside sluggers]

you're telling me I have tickets to game 3 of Sox/Yanks on Oct 2 (Mussina vs Wakefield) i cant wait its gonna be my first playoffs like feel game, seats are like right behind the yanks dugout too

[26 to 6]

Because Schilling actually has a good reason for sucking. He had an injury to the ankle of his push off foot. The injury has clearly shown with his low speed fastball and crappy fall out on his splitter. There is still hope that he can recover fully and pitch like he did.

 

Johnson on the other hand came with HUGE expectations, even demanding a 15 million dollar 3 year extension. He was supposed to be the ace of the staff analysts even picked him winning 30 games. The only health issuses that he has had is miss one start with stiffness in his back.

 

Basically, there are some credible reasons to believe that Schilling can come back and perform, if any one has any good reason reason to say why RJ has a chace to right himself please let me know.

thats a pretty stupid way to look at things. so because he hasnt had the injuries tha Schilling has had this year that means hes not entitled to become dominant again?

[soxie thefangirl]

It means that he's had the chance to show his dominance but has not.

[26 to 6]

It means that he's had the chance to show his dominance but has not.

I dont know about that, with the exception of his "ejection" game, he's been fantastic as of late.

[MC Hammer]

thats a pretty stupid way to look at things. so because he hasnt had the injuries tha Schilling has had this year that means hes not entitled to become dominant again?

He's not saying that. I think what he's trying to say is that theres reason to be optimistic about Schilling. He had a very serious injury and he is still trying to rehab back from it. There's a good chance that once he's 100% he'll be Curt again. RJ has pretty much sucked all year without explaination, so what is there that would lead you to believe he would suddenly snap out of it?

[Yanksfantoo]

It doesn't matter about Randy Johnson, we have other consistent pitching. We have a good chance of winning, as do you.

 

All I am saying is it ain't over til it's over. Frankly I am confused as to why anyone that is a Redsox fan would be boasting that they clinched the American League East when they were 2 1/2 games ahead of the most celebrated team in the history of baseball. That's a mystery.

 

Hold on boys it's going to be a long 2 weeks.

[eZ_d0eS_iT]

chacon and small might be getting the job done for now, but they don't exactly have the post season experience or inspire intimidation from the opposing side. you are seriously deluding yourself if you think you can win without rj as your ace. if schilling can regain a measure of his former effectiveness there's no reason johnson can't. but neither boston or ny will be a lock to win without their respective aces.

 

as for yankee history...last time i checked history didnt win you championships...talented rosters with players getting hot at the right time did. i'm not saying ny doesn't fall into that category, but please don't go with the whole lame "celebrated team" ********. outside of '81, that mystique didn't do jack for them from '82 - '95.

[riverside sluggers]

no matter if the yankees or red sox come out on top, the real team to beat will have to be the cleveland Guardians, i mean name one flaw they have, i cant find any

[MANNYHOF24]

The Guardians are real good, but i think the sox could take them down in a long series

[ARod2212]

chacon and small might be getting the job done for now, but they don't exactly have the post season experience or inspire intimidation from the opposing side. you are seriously deluding yourself if you think you can win without rj as your ace. if schilling can regain a measure of his former effectiveness there's no reason johnson can't. but neither boston or ny will be a lock to win without their respective aces.

You take 'experience and intimidation', I'll take the guys who get people out and we'll see who's on top. You know what experience is? Al Leiter, Kevin Brown and Boomer Wells. I'd take Wang over anyone of those guys, and probably anyone on either staff right now to start a game. 96 MPH sinker? Sick. I agree, Randy Johnson is going to need to step up (which I am feeling more and more confident he'll do). However, if he's average I think that Wang, Chacon, Small and Mussina can pick up the slack. They all bring something good to the table.

[YANKEESRULE]

`All's i know is that I feel a lot better about this year then I did earlier.

[ARod2212]

If your H.W. actually gets done well during the postseason, then I question your fandom!

I love it! I know exactly what you mean. Academically, October has always been my worst month.

 

As for the Guardians, I am pretty certain they are going to take the Central. I am looking at Chicago's losing more than anything. I think they'll be the Wild Card competiton. In the end, I think we'll all be in the playoffs. Chicago is just not good enough to hold their lead for 2 weeks.

[Optimist]

chacon and small might be getting the job done for now, but they don't exactly have the post season experience

 

Joe ...that you?

 

or inspire intimidation from the opposing side.

 

That could actually help us. A batter goes up there and expects to hit the ball out of the park against one of these 'non-intimidating' guys and ends up hitting it weakly back to the mound (Wang) or to a fielder (Small, Chacon.) Frustrated batters is a good thing.

 

you are seriously deluding yourself if you think you can win without rj as your ace.

 

Very true. Johnson needs to continue to be dominant these next few starts, as do all of our pitchers.

[AlexanderTheGreat13]

Riverside is right about the Guardians. They really dont have one major flaw. I can only see maybe 2 things that may hurt them in the playoffs. One could be Bob Wickman. I'm not sure if I trust him in a big spot. He has been great this year but hes been known to ALWAYS make the save intresting. You saw it last night. He let 2 guys get on and of course the White Sox could do nothing. As a matter a fact Konerko got a hanging slider and he popped it up. The other is they really dont have that ONE dominate pitcher either from the roation or the pen. If you look at the past world series champions (2004-Schilling/Foulke, 2003-Beckett, 2002-K-Rod, 2001-Johnson/Schilling, 1996-2000 Mariano Rivera and even in 1997- Livan Hernandez) they have had atleast 1 dominate pitcher. Who knows maybe it will be Cliff Lee for them. I think he has 17 wins. Hes been great and Millwood leads the league in ERA. They really have a well rounded team.

[riverside sluggers]

ugh from mlb.com, i was sure if the sox win the east theyd face the AL West Division Champs, but according to this Sox would have to face the wild card winner (right now the Guardians) starting on October 4th.

 

Day at the Races: Sept. 20

 

They're breathing a bit easier on the South Side of Chicago, thanks to Joe Crede's 10th-inning, walk-off home run Tuesday night that kept the surging Cleveland Guardians from cutting the White Sox lead in the American League Central to 1 1/2 games. The Florida Marlins slipped further away in their race after Mike Jacobs' walk-off single in the 12th inning lifted the Mets to victory and handed the Marlins their fifth loss in six games. The Red Sox and Yankees stayed on a collision course for their season-ending series at Fenway Park. Both won big on Tuesday night as the AL East race stayed tight.

 

The Angels and A's also kept pace in their AL West race with wins. Houston got help from Atlanta, New York and San Francisco in the National League Wild Card race. The Astros won at Pittsburgh and the Braves, Mets and Giants knocked off the Phillies, Marlins and Nationals, respectively. The Astros gained a game on each of their pursuers -- a game they had lost on Monday, when the Astros lost while the other teams in the Wild Card hunt were idle.

 

 

If the season ended today:

American League Division Series 1:

Angels at White Sox, starting Oct. 4

 

American League Division Series 2:

Guardians at Red Sox, starting Oct. 4

 

National League Division Series 1:

Padres at Cardinals, starting Oct. 4-5

 

National League Division Series 2:

Astros at Braves, starting Oct. 4-5

 

AL WILD CARD

Cleveland Guardians (88-63), 1/2 game ahead

Tuesday: David Riske surrendered a walk-off home run to Joe Crede in the 10th inning and the Guardians saw their winning streak snapped at six with a 7-6 loss to Chicago at U.S. Cellular Field. The loss dropped the Guardians 3 1/2 games behind Chicago in the AL Central.

Wednesday: Scott Elarton squares off against Cy Young candidate Jon Garland as the Guardians try to climb within 2 1/2 games of the White Sox and hold off the Yankees.

Remaining games (11): Sept. 21 at Chicago White Sox; Sept. 22-25 at Kansas City; Sept. 27-29 vs. Tampa Bay; Sept. 30-Oct. 2 vs. Chicago White Sox

 

New York Yankees (87-63)

Tuesday: Gary Sheffield hit a grand slam and Jorge Posada contributed a three-run homer as the Yankees rolled to a 12-9 victory over the Orioles. The Yankees didn't pick up any ground on Boston, remaining half a game back in the division race, but they did gain a game on the Guardians.

Wednesday: Randy Johnson takes the mound for the first time since being tossed in the second inning of his last start -- his first ejection since 1998. Johnson is gunning for win No. 15 as the Yankees try to keep pace in both the AL East and Wild Card races.

Remaining games (12): Sept. 21-22 vs. Baltimore; Sept. 23-25 vs. Toronto; Sept. 26-29 at Baltimore; Sept. 30-Oct. 2 at Boston

 

Oakland Athletics (84-67)

Tuesday: The A's kept pace with the Angels in the AL West race and moved to within four games of the Wild Card lead with an 8-3 victory over Minnesota.

Wednesday: Joe Kennedy, filling in for the injured Rich Harden, makes his second start since taking over for the right-hander. Kennedy is 2-2 with a 6.45 ERA lifetime against Minnesota.

Remaining games (11): Sept. 21 vs. Minnesota; Sept. 23-25 vs. Texas; Sept. 26-29 vs. LA Angels of Anaheim; Sept. 30-Oct. 2 at Seattle

 

AL EAST

Boston Red Sox (88-63), first place, 1/2 game ahead

Tuesday: David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez each contributed a pair of homers to back the pitching of Curt Schilling as Boston buried Tampa Bay, 15-2. The Red Sox are even with the Yankees in the loss column and have a magic number of 12.

Wednesday: Tim Wakefield will go for win No. 16 of 2005, taking on Scott Kazmir and the Devil Rays in the series finale at Tropicana Field.

Remaining games (11): Sept. 21 at Tampa Bay; Sept. 23-25 at Baltimore; Sept. 26-29 vs. Toronto; Sept. 30-Oct. 2 vs. New York Yankees

 

AL CENTRAL

Chicago White Sox (91-59), first place, 3 1/2 games ahead

Tuesday: In what might be Chicago's biggest win of the season, the White Sox came back twice to beat Cleveland and cut their magic number to nine. Joe Crede hit a walk-off homer to lead off the tenth -- his second homer of the game -- and lift the South Siders to a much-needed 7-6 victory.

Wednesday: Jon Garland, who held Minnesota to one run over eight innings in his last start, gets another tough assignment, taking on Scott Elarton and the Guardians in the rubber game of the series.

Remaining games (11): Sept. 21 vs. Cleveland; Sept. 22-25 vs. Minnesota; Sept. 26-29 at Detroit; Sept. 30-Oct. 2 at Cleveland

 

AL WEST

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (85-65), first place, 1 1/2 games ahead

Tuesday: Bartolo Colon gave up an unearned run on four hits in seven innings and picked up his 20th victory of the season as the Angels edged Texas, 2-1. The Angels have a magic number of 11.

Wednesday: John Lackey shoots for his 13th victory against Cameron Loe and Texas. Lackey was touched for six runs in as many innings in his last start.

Remaining games (12): Sept. 21-22 vs. Texas; Sept. 23-25 vs. Tampa Bay; Sept. 26-29 at Oakland; Sept. 30-Oct. 2 at Texas

 

NL WILD CARD

Houston Astros (82-69), 2 games ahead

Tuesday: Andy Pettitte won his seventh consecutive decision to improve to 17-9 and Brad Ausmus went 3-for-3 with four RBIs as Houston beat Pittsburgh, 7-4. Houston picked up a game on Philadelphia, Florida and Washington, and the Astros' magic number to clinch the Wild Card is 10.

Wednesday: Roy Oswalt, 2-1 with a 2.33 ERA in September, goes after his 18th victory as the Astros meet Kip Wells and the Pirates. Wells has lost eight of his last nine decisions but he is 1-0 with a 1.35 ERA against Houston this season.

Remaining games (11): Sept. 21-22 at Pittsburgh; Sept. 23-25 at Chicago Cubs; Sept. 27-28 at St. Louis; Sept. 29-Oct. 2 vs. Chicago Cubs

 

Philadelphia Phillies (80-71)

Tuesday: Jimmy Rollins waited until he was down, 0-2, with two outs in the ninth before he extended his hitting streak to 25 games -- the third-longest in franchise history --with an RBI single. That was the only bright spot on the night for Philadelphia as they dropped a 4-1 decision to Jorge Sosa and Atlanta. The Phillies fell two games behind Houston in the Wild Card race.

Wednesday: Brett Myers, 0-2 with a 5.71 ERA in three September starts, tries to get back on track against Horacio Ramirez and the Braves at Turner Field.

Remaining games (11): Sept. 21-22 at Atlanta; Sept. 23-25 at Cincinnati; Sept. 26-28 vs. New York Mets; Sept. 30-Oct. 2 at Washington

 

Florida Marlins (79-72)

Tuesday: The Marlins gave up just four hits but wound up losing, 2-1, in 12 innings when New York's Mike Jacobs drilled an RBI single off Brian Moehler. The Marlins have dropped five of six and are now three games behind Houston in the Wild Card standings.

Wednesday: Rookie Jason Vargas hasn't won since Aug. 26, but he gets another chance against Jae Seo and the Mets at Shea Stadium. The Marlins saw their elimination number reduced to nine with Tuesday's loss.

Remaining games (15): Sept. 21-22 at New York Mets; Sept. 23-25 at Atlanta; Sept. 26-29 vs. Washington; Sept. 30-Oct. 2 vs. Atlanta

 

Washington Nationals (77-74)

Tuesday: The Nationals pitched around Barry Bonds, and Moises Alou made them pay for it. After a walk to Bonds with two outs in the ninth, Alou hit a three-run homer to lift San Francisco to a 4-3 victory over Washington.

Wednesday: John Patterson, who recorded a complete-game victory over San Diego in his last start, gets the nod against Brad Hennessey and the Giants.

Remaining games (11): Sept. 21-22 vs. Giants; Sept. 23-25 vs. New York Mets; Sept. 26-28 at Florida; Sept. 30-Oct. 2 vs. Philadelphia

 

NL EAST

Atlanta Braves (86-65) first place, 5 games ahead

Tuesday: Jorge "Mr. September" Sosa improved to 13-3 -- and 4-0 with a 1.42 ERA this month -- with an outstanding performance against the Phillies in Atlanta's 4-1 win, which trimmed the Braves' magic number to six.

Wednesday: Horacio Ramirez, 1-3 with an 11.88 ERA in four starts against Philadelphia, gets another crack at the Phillies and Brett Myers.

Remaining games (11): Sept. 21-22 vs. Philadelphia; Sept. 23-25 vs. Florida; Sept. 26-28 vs. Colorado; Sept. 30-Oct. 2 at Florida

 

NL WEST

San Diego Padres (75-75), first place, 5 games ahead

Tuesday: Matt Holliday drove in eight runs with four hits as Colorado routed San Diego, 20-1, at Coors Field. Woody Williams started for the Padres, and his career ERA at Coors Field ballooned to 15.75 after he was touched for nine runs (eight earned) in an inning-plus of work.

Wednesday: Jake Peavy will start the series finale for the Padres, who have a magic number of eight.

Remaining games (11): Sept. 21-22 at Colorado; Sept. 23-25 at Arizona; Sept. 26-29 vs. San Francisco; Sept. 30-Oct. 2 vs. Dodgers

[HOFer51]

wang has saved the season on the DL? I wouldn'y hold your breath on RJ being dominant again this year or ever.

I'ts just so funny how one month and things can change, but carry on.

[riverside sluggers]

yanks had the 1/2 game lead before, 10 games left and anything can happen

[HOFer51]

Yankees won't win the East and Yankees won't win the wild card. I'm sorry, it's over get over it. It doesn't matter that we are only 2.5 games ahead.

I'll let that pass since the Yanks were still a bit inconsistent at that time. :thumbdown

[riverside sluggers]

dude cmon this is just sad, going back and reading through all of the past posts and responding to them

[26 to 6]

dude cmon this is just sad, going back and reading through all of the past posts and responding to them

yea I have to agree with you. This is what gives Yankee fans the bad rep, lets be a little humble at least until we wrap it up.

[Manny Goes Boom]

dude cmon this is just sad, going back and reading through all of the past posts and responding to them

 

Riverside, he's probably one of the ones who said Curt is done this season and only will work (and slightly in their words) at best out of the 'pen

 

Take what he's saying with a grain of salt.

[schillingouttheks]

I had fun quoting Empire from a WHILE back about him s***-talkin the Pats previous to the '04-'05 campaign

[empirestrikesback26]

I had fun quoting Empire from a WHILE back about him s***-talkin the Pats previous to the '04-'05 campaign

Eh, they won't do it this year. For real this time.

 

How ironic this is.

[Pinstripe_Pride]

My vote: The Red Sox

 

funny how they aren't even an option though....

[Yanksfantoo]

Yeah - I would vote for the Red Sox also --- since we clinched

the American League East Division!!!!! Got the last laugh again,

didn't we!!!!

[schillingouttheks]

A lot of people didn't think it either, what a mistake it was...

[schillingouttheks]

Yeah - I would vote for the Red Sox also --- since we clinched

the American League East Division!!!!! Got the last laugh again,

didn't we!!!!

What do you mean you got the last laugh...especially saying "again?"

 

We laughed last year after game 7 of the ALCS.

 

We also laughed after game 4 of the World Series.

 

We also laughed on Opening Day at Fenway Park this year.

 

AND, it's not like you knocked us out of the playoffs...I don't even think we'll meet again after tomorrow. Have fun with the Angels :thumbsup:

[yankeessuck013]

Yeah - I would vote for the Red Sox also --- since we clinched

the American League East Division!!!!! Got the last laugh again,

didn't we!!!!

 

oooh another yankee fan showing up today, this must be a record

[riverside sluggers]

Yeah - I would vote for the Red Sox also --- since we clinched

the American League East Division!!!!! Got the last laugh again,

didn't we!!!!

 

you do realize there is still a possibility of 8 more games to be played of sox vs yanks. dont you?