harmony

Depends on the division. Entering Monday's games, the AL East had a cumulative record of 230-215 (.517), the AL Central 183-263 (.410) and the AL West 254-201 (.558).

LOL ... who's cherry-picking? Seattle is 2-1 against Toronto, 4-0 against Baltimore and 2-1 against Toronto ... and 6-1 against Tampa Bay. The Mariners are 12-2 (.857) overall against those clubs while the Red Sox are 25-7 (.781). Houston is 2-1 against Toronto, 3-0 against Baltimore and 2-1 against Toronto ... and 3-4 against Tampa Bay. The Astros are 8-5 (.615) overall against those clubs. To avoid cherry-picking, the AL West to date has an overall 58-55 record against the AL East (including the Big Bad Red Sox and Yankees), but have played only 16 of those 113 games against the woeful Orioles (who are 1-15 in those contests). AL West clubs look forward to feasting on the Orioles in 17 of the roughly 52 remaining games against the AL East. Critics have legitimately used run differential to question Seattle's success so far this season. Indeed the Mariners' Pythagorean record of 47-44 trails the 66-26 of the Astros by 18.5 games. But by the Pythagorean measure, the Red Sox at 60-31 trail the Astros by 5.5 games, solidifying the favorite status of the defending World Series champions. Other sources endorse Houston's favorite role: https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2018-mlb-predictions/ https://www.fangraphs.com/standings/playoff-odds https://www.fangraphs.com/depthcharts.aspx?position=Standings The Red Sox and Yankees have fine teams this year and AL East may well represent the American League in the World Series for the second time in nine seasons. However, their regular-season win totals may be inflated by playing in a less competitive division.

Wouldn't the Astros be playing for the home-field advantage through the postseason? Or do you anticipate fades by the Red Sox and Yankees?

Stated differently, the unbalanced schedule favors the Red Sox and Yankees, who get about 18 games this year against the Rays, Blue Jays and Orioles, who today are a combined 47 games below .500. The unbalanced schedule disfavors the Astros and Mariners, who get about 18 games this year against the Athletics, Angels and Rangers, who today are a combined even .500. That stark disparity impacts the difference in the win totals of the Red Sox and Yankees, who are a combined 62 games above .500, and the win totals of the Astros and Mariners, who are a combined 53 games above .500. All I wrote on this thread on Friday was: "The win disparity can be explained in part by the Red Sox and Yankees playing in a less competitive division than the Mariners and Astros."

I merely answered a direct question with my opinion. Some Seattle fans have a similar issue with Mariner catcher Mike Zunino because those fans can’t look beyond the stats found on the back of a baseball card.

Many people don’t know how to properly value a player such as Jackie Bradley. MLB front offices and Bradley’s agent have a better idea.

As a fan who visits many baseball forums, I must say Red Sox fans rank right up there.

Some Yankee fans bemoan the Red Sox acquisition of Steve Pearce: http://www.nyyfansforum.com/showthread.php/138070-2018-Trade-Deadline-Thread/page102 Scroll down.

Which would happen if the Astros capture the No. 1 seed, as projected: https://www.fangraphs.com/standings/playoff-odds

How would a Yankee fan feel if the Mariners beat the Red Sox in the Wild Card game?

A distressed baseball franchise attracts fewer less knowledgeable bandwagon fans.😁

A Seattle Mariner fan is no stranger to disappointment. Nevertheless, the disappointment would reach new depths if the Mariners collapse after reaching an 88 percent chance of advancing to the postseason. Anything can happen.🙄

Last year the NL West sent three teams to the postseason.

If the Red Sox and Mariners swapped divisions, would the M’s prefer to play the Yankees over the Astros, the Rays over the Athletics, the Blue Jays over the Angels and the Orioles over the Rangers? Would the Sox prefer to play the Astros over the Yankees, Athletics over the Rays, Angels over the Blue Jays and Rangers over the Orioles? Bear in mind that the bottom three teams in the AL East are currently a combined 44 games below .500 while the bottom three AL West teams are a combined 1 game under .500.

Or the Mariners would finish third and advance to the postseason.

Good point. If the Red Sox and Mariners swapped divisions, the Sox would play about 18 games each against the Astros, Athletics, Angels and Rangers while the M’s would play 18 each against the Yankees, Rays, Blue Jays and Orioles. The Mariners would probably like that switch (and likely postseason berth).

And the Mariners would play 18 games a year against the Rays, Blue Jays and Orioles. The issue was raised in the context of win totals, not whether the Mariners could win head-to-head series against the Red Sox and Yankees. The Mariners posted a 3-4 record against the Red Sox this year and are 0-3 against the Yankees with three games remaining in Seattle. The Mariners are a combined 12-2 against the other three AL East clubs. That’s the point.

The NL West is projected to post a better cumulative record than the NL East this year: https://www.fangraphs.com/standings/playoff-odds Last year the NL West sent three teams to the postseason while the Miami Marlins finished second in the NL East, eight games below .500. The NL East has improved this year but still lags behind the NL West.

The Mariners would probably prefer to play the Red Sox OR the Yankees 18 times a year instead of 18 games a year against the defending World Series champion and presumptive favorite Astros. The Red Sox and Yankees are a combined 58 games above .500 while the Astros and Mariners are a combined 51 games above .500. The other three AL East teams are a combined 44 games below .500 while the other three AL West teams are a combined 1 game under .500. It’s clear what’s going on, AL West teams have a winning record in face-to-face competition against AL East teams this year despite having played only 16 games against the hapless Orioles (who are 1-15 in those games). One could argue that the AL East has the easier inter league draw this season.

The win disparity can be explained in part by the Red Sox and Yankees playing in a less competitive division than the Mariners and Astros.

Earlier this week a Seattle radio broadcaster commented that if the Mariners capture a distant second Wild Card slot by a confortable margin, as projected, a down-to-the-wire race in the AL East would help the M’s because the club could give its starters more rest than could the Wild Card entrant from the AL East.

The San Francisco Giants pay Pablo Sandoval the league minimum salary of $545,000 and the Red Sox pay the balance of his $18 million salary. The league minimum salary goes up to $555,000 next year when the Sox will still be on the hook for the balance of Sandoval's $18 million salary. According to Cot's Baseball Contracts, the Red Sox will be responsible for the $5 million buyout of the $17 million team option for 2020. http://legacy.baseballprospectus.com/compensation/cots/nl-west/san-francisco-giants/ Each dollar the Red Sox pay to Sandoval will count in the luxury tax accounting.

The Red Sox, Yankees, Astros and Mariners are all on pace to win at least 103 games. Something's gotta give ... and it might be Seattle.

A Bosox Injection blogger contemplates a Red Sox fire sale: https://bosoxinjection.com/2018/07/04/red-sox-hypothetical-fire-sale-five-potential-trade-ideas/ I didn't expect those wild proposals.

SB Nation team sites are filled with fluff pieces.