Sports – Page 36 – monoblogue

Odds and ends no. 6

Been awhile since I’ve had one of these, but thanks to reading some of my fellow MBA bloggers’ websites, I’ve found a few things out.

Thanks to Soccer Dad, I found out that the Baltimore Orioles’ farm system is getting quite a bit more compact geographically. Instead of shipping their players to Canada to hold them in reserve just off the big league roster, now players who progress through the Orioles system will go this route: Bluefield (WV), Aberdeen, Delmarva, Frederick, Bowie, Norfolk, and Baltimore. After 38 years as a Mets affiliate, the Norfolk Tides will now become the top farm team of the Orioles.

It may also come to pass that the man who owns the Tides, Ken Young, would become the new owner of three other teams in the Orioles’ chain, including the Shorebirds. That deal is apparently now contingent on the approval of both the minor league and major league baseball organizations, but that’s generally a rubber stamp.

So if Ken Young happens to be reading this, please refer to this post! I have a few suggestions for you.

Further, I found out that the lone Maryland team not holding an Orioles affiliation, the Hagerstown Suns, has also dropped the Mets as a talent supplier and opted to become a farm team for the Washington Nationals. So a great Maryland rivalry becomes even better. In fact, with the exception of the lowest level, starting next season the Orioles and Nationals affiliates will become at least semi-frequent opponents at each minor league level because longtime Yankee triple-A affiliate Columbus will become the Nationals’ top farm club in 2007.

Another item I saw amongst my MBA brethren was a blurb on Pillage Idiot regarding the top 10 Maryland political bloggers, of which he was one along with the Alan Colmes of our group (Crablaw) and some Eastern Shore blog, now what was the name of it?

Here is what Stephanie Dray had to say about monoblogue:

“This blog about Maryland politics is located in Salisbury, and that’s a good thing. In any discussion of Maryland politics, the Eastern Shore tends to be neglected. Monoblogue attempts to pick up the slack. Unusual for conservative commentary, the tone of this blog tends to be wonky. There’s a slew of useful links on the right-hand side, and it’s filled with content. A handy resource for those looking to learn more about Maryland politics.”

And here’s her list of the others in the Top 10. As one would expect from a left-leaning perspective, she mostly cites those that share her views. However, her comments about monoblogue tell me that I’m pretty much hitting the target that I intended when I started it, particularly regarding the links and the amount of content. So I appreciate the input from Stephanie, and perhaps that’s why I had a record for both hits and readership in September. I do think it’s a bit funny that I see this praise on a week that I was tracking the baseball playoff picture on a nightly basis. But I can’t do wall-to-wall politics because I’d get burnt on it.

Speaking of hits and readers, I was looking at my Site Meter today and realized that reader number 10,000 should be visiting my site this week. (This is readers since I started the Site Meter in the spring.) It’ll be interesting to see who it is, if I can figure it out.

Also, just to make people aware of this, I’ve already contacted Comcast about my move – but there may be a period in two weeks where my updates will be nonexistent as monoblogue switches venues. Hopefully all will go smoothly with the move; however, after the election I’m going to also update to WordPress 2.0.4 so there might have to be a template change (right now I run a much older WordPress version, release 1.5.2). Thus it’s possible the “look” of monoblogue could change as well. Just a “heads up”.

There is one thing I’m going to look for in WordPress that I’d like to integrate into monoblogue, and that’s the ability to do polls. I’m not sure if there’s a plugin that does it for WordPress, but if I can find one which agrees with the other plugins I have, I’ll integrate it and do occasional polls because I’m just a curious sort like that.

Baseball playoff update 10-1 (last one!)

This is it, it’s all come down to Sunday, October 1st.

American League: New York is in as the #1 seed (homefield throughout) and Oakland is in as the #3 seed.

2. DETROIT (95-66, tied for A.L. Central lead with Minnesota). Honestly, you have to wonder just how far the Tigers will get in the playoffs if they can’t beat a team who already has 100 losses and that they’re playing at home just once out of two tries to win the title. On August 7th they were 76-36 and 10 games clear of Chicago. Since then they’re only 19-30 while Minnesota has gone 30-20. A full season at the Tigers’ post-August 7 pace would put them at 63-99. But they’ll press on regardless. Kansas City throws out Odalis Perez (6-8, 5.91 between the Dodgers and Royals) against Detroit’s Jeremy Bonderman (14-8, 3.99). It’s time for the Tigers to get pissed, this should’ve been wrapped up long ago.

4. Minnesota (95-66, tied for A.L. Central lead with Detroit). If not for the White Sox, the Twins would’ve won this as Detroit has about run out of gas to finish the year. Javier Vazquez (11-11, 4.77) closes out the campaign against Scott Baker (5-8, 6.37) for the Twins.

The postseason matchups will look like this: if Detroit wins OR Minnesota loses, it’s Minnesota vs. New York and Oakland vs. Detroit. A Detroit loss AND Minnesota win makes it Detroit vs. New York and Oakland vs. Minnesota.

National League:

New York is in as the #1 seed (homefield throughout).

2. San Diego (87-74, tied with Los Angeles for N.L. West lead). Both teams won today, eliminating the Phillies. The Padres wrap up the regular season in the season’s final scheduled game (timewise) and get set for the playoffs with Woody Williams (11-5, 3.57) on the hill facing Arizona’s ace Brandon Webb (16-7, 2.88). If San Diego wins they secure the #2 seed and home field in the first playoff round.

3. St. Louis (83-77, lead N.L. Central by 1 1/2 games over Houston). It’s quite simple, really. If the Cardinals lose tomorrow’s game while Houston wins, it’s a trip to St. Louis for the San Francisco Giants to make up a September 17 rainout. Then if the Cards lose that one, they’ll make the trek to Houston for a game on Tuesday to decide the N.L. Central winner. But St. Louis can avoid all of the hassle by beating Milwaukee tomorrow. The Brewers will start rookie Carlos Villanueva (1-2, 3.97) and the Cardinals counter with Chris Carpenter (15-8, 3.09).

4. Los Angeles (87-74, tied with San Diego for N.L. West lead). The Dodgers celebrated on the home field of their hated rival San Francisco Giants. But the Giants could banish the Dodgers to the wild card spot with a win tomorrow. Los Angeles pitches Derek Lowe (16-8, 3.63) and the Giants will start Jason Schmidt (11-9, 3.56).

5. Houston (82-79). They’re probably the farthest away from a chair when the music stops, but they could jump over the back and grab a spot with some help from the Brewers and Giants. Andy Pettitte (14-13, 4.30) gets the call for Houston and Atlanta counters with John Smoltz (15-9, 3.58) in a solid pitching matchup of two postseason veterans. Would Houston start Roger Clemens on three days’ rest in a playoff game with the Cardinals?

There are several possible matchups here, although the Houston/St. Louis survivor is locked in as the #3 seed which makes it a bit easier. If San Diego wins OR Los Angeles loses, it’s Los Angeles vs. New York and Hou/StL vs. San Diego. A San Diego loss AND Los Angeles win makes it San Diego vs. New York and Hou/StL vs. Los Angeles.

Postscript, American League: It ends up Detroit (95-67, A.L. wild card) against New York (97-65, A.L. East champion) and Oakland (93-69, A.L. West champion) against Minnesota (96-66, A.L. Central champion). Man does that hurt to write that last one but if you can’t beat a 100-loss team in 3 tries at home you may as well stay home yourself. Anyway, talk about nice evenly matched teams! Any of the four are worthy representatives.

Postscript, National League: Final standings place Los Angeles (88-74, N.L. wild card) against New York (97-65, N.L. East champion) and St. Louis (83-78, N.L. Central champion) against San Diego (88-74, N.L. West champion). The Mets dominated the regular season but sometimes that makes a team lose its edge. And Philadelphia fans are bemoaning the bad luck of being in the N.L. East instead of winning the N.L. Central – they finished 85-77 and would’ve won the Central with that record.

Baseball playoff update 9-30

As I predicted, this will get a lot shorter today as fewer games are meaningful. Tonight the Yankees locked up home field throughout the A.L. playoffs, thus the playoffs in both leagues go through the Big Apple. Also, Oakland’s loss to the Angels leaves them in the #3 seeded spot in the American League – thus all that’s left to decide is where the Tigers and Twins end up. They’re still tied as both lost tonight, the Tigers blowing a 5 run lead to the Royals.

But the National League stayed jumbled as Philadelphia won to stay alive while the Dodgers moved back into a tie for first in the N.L. West.

I’m writing this early in the A.M. and will bury this in the morning since there’s other stuff I’ll write on today.

American League:

1. New York (97-63, clinched A.L. East and home field throughout playoffs).

2. DETROIT (95-65, tied for A.L. Central lead with Minnesota). The Tigers will know how the Twins fared today because they have a 7:10 p.m. start while Minnesota plays a real matinee game, they have a 11:10 a.m. local start. Kansas City will again provide the opposition and they send out Ambiorix Burgos (4-5, 5.60) against Zach Miner (7-5, 4.37) of Detroit. The magic number for Detroit dropped to 2 with the Twins losing.

3. Oakland (92-68, clinched A.L. West and will be #3 seed).

4. Minnesota (95-65, tied for A.L. Central lead with Detroit). The Twins will have to get up early for this one, the reason they play the 11:10 a.m. local start is because the Metrodome also hosts the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers football team. And if there wasn’t enough rivalry between the Twins and Tigers, the Golden Gophers host the University of Michigan Wolverines for the Little Brown Jug trophy tomorrow night (go Blue!)

But the baseball game takes precedence, and the Chicago White Sox will start Jon Garland (17-7, 4.61); he’ll face Minnesota’s Matt Garza (3-5, 5.32).

National League:

1. New York (95-65, N.L. East champions and home field through N.L. playoffs).

2. San Diego (86-74, tied for N.L. West lead with Los Angeles). As with the Detroit/Minnesota situation in the A.L. the Padres win the tiebreaker because of a 13-5 season mark against the Dodgers. So if both teams win or the Phillies lose, this would be the order in the event San Diego and Los Angeles tie for first. First things first though – the Padres send out David Wells (2-5, 4.80 between Boston and San Diego) against Arizona’s Edgar Gonzalez (3-3, 3.86). Magic number for a division title stays at 3 for the Padres but their playoff magic number is now 1.

3. St. Louis (82-77, leads N.L. Central by 1 1/2 games over Houston and 2 1/2 games over Cincinnati). The Cards won tonight and with help from Atlanta beating Houston, their magic number dropped to 2. More importantly, it lessened the chance of playing a Monday makeup contest with San Francisco. Milwaukee provides today’s opposition for the Cards, the Brewers have slated Ben Sheets (6-7, 4.05) as their starter while the Cardinals tap Jeff Suppan (12-7, 4.18) as their pick.

4. Los Angeles (86-74, tied for N.L. West lead with San Diego, lead wild card by 2 games over Philadelphia). A LA win (or Phillies loss) puts Dodger blue in the postseason, but it could be Sunday before the order is determined. Tomorrow they send out veteran Greg Maddux (14-14, 4.26 with the Cubs and Dodgers) to face the barely half his age Matt Cain (13-11, 4.09) of the San Francisco Giants.

5. Philadelphia (84-76). Both the Padres and Dodgers could be in the playoffs before they start tomorrow as the Phillies play a 1:20 game in Florida. It’s Randy Wolf (4-0, 5.24) out to keep the Phillies alive, he goes up against Scott Olsen (12-9, 3.97) of the Marlins.

6. Houston (81-79). With the Rocket fizzling tonight, the Astros are now all but on the bubble as they continue play in Atlanta. Rookie Chris Sampson (2-0, 2,10) is listed as the Astros’ starter but Phil Garner’s been known to pull out all the stops in situations like this. The Braves are much more likely to give Lance Cormier (4-5, 5.00) his appointed turn.

7. Cincinnati (80-80). They held on tonight by beating Pittsburgh, but the situation comes down to needing 2 more wins and rooting for Atlanta and Milwaukee, plus a San Francisco treat on Monday. Heaven help us if all three of these N.L. Central teams finish 82-80, which is mathematically possible. What’s more likely though is Cincinnati’s Bronson Arroyo (14-10, 3.27) taking on Pittsburgh’s Marty McLeary (1-0, 3.38).

But it IS possible that this would be the last installment of this series and Sunday’s games rendered meaningless if the right combination of teams win. I’ll likely know this by about 10 p.m. tonight.

Baseball playoff update 9-29

Three days left in the regular season. Almost certainly this will be the last night that I’ll have to go through 11 games, as Cincinnati and Philadelphia are on the bubble tonight and Oakland could find itself locked into the #3 seed in the American League.

But thanks to a mistake on my part and then my damn server dropping on me for about 10 minutes, I only have time for the matchups and pitchers.

American League:

1. New York (96-63, won A.L. East). Toronto pitches Gustavo Chacin (9-3, 4.90) is at New York , who starts Mike Mussina (14-7, 3.57). Magic number for home field throughout is 3.

2. DETROIT (95-64, tied for A.L. Central lead with Minnesota). Kansas City will start Runelvys Hernandez (6-10, 6.38) in Detroit, the Tigers send out Wil Ledezma (3-3, 3.58). The Tigers’ magic number remains 3.

3. Oakland (92-67, won A.L. West) sends Esteban Loaiza (11-8, 4.84) to the mound in Los Angeles; the Angels counter with Ervin Santana (15-8, 4.43).

4. Minnesota (95-64, tied for A.L. Central lead with Detroit). The Twins host Chicago, pitching for the White Sox will be Freddy Garcia (16-9, 4.65) and he’ll square off with the Twins’ Boof Bonser (7-5, 4.15).

National League:

1. New York (94-65, won N.L. East and locked as #1 seed).

2. San Diego (86-73, leads N.L. West by 1 game over Los Angeles). In Arizona, the Padres turn to Clay Hensley (11-11, 3.73) to take on the D-backs’ Livan Hernandez (12-13, 4.95). San Diego’s magic number for the division title is 3; a Padres win or a loss by Philadelphia assures San Diego a playoff spot.

3. St. Louis (81-77, leads N.L. Central by 1/2 game over Houston and 2 1/2 over Cincinnati). Milwaukee is the Cardinals’ opponent tonight, they’ll start Chris Capuano (11-11, 3.87) against Jeff Weaver (7-14, 5.79 between the Angels and Cards) at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. The Cardinals’ magic number is 4.

4. Los Angeles (85-74, leads wild card by 2 games over Philadelphia) will pitch Hong-Chih Kuo (1-5, 4.12) at San Francisco; the Giants counter with Noah Lowry (7-10, 4.84). A win by the Dodgers and a Philadelphia loss will put the Dodgers in as at least a wild card.

5. Philadelphia (83-76). It’s all on the line for the Phillies tonight, they’ll place their season in the hands of Jamie Moyer (10-14, 4.36 between Seattle and Philadelphia) as he takes on Florida’s Brian Moehler (7-10, 6.22).

6. Houston (81-78). They’re only alive for the N.L. Central title, but they’re sending out the Rocket, Roger Clemens (7-5, 2.35) to face Atlanta; the Braves will counter with Chuck James (10-4, 3.94).

7. Cincinnati (79-80). Again a must-win for the Reds, a loss would end their playoff hopes if either St. Louis or Houston comes out on top in their games. Cincinnati will start Aaron Harang (15-11, 3.83) against Pittsburgh’s Zach Duke (10-14, 4.44) in PNC Park.

I’m thinking I’ll have about 9 teams to do tomorrow.

Baseball playoff update 9-28

Some of these teams have already played today so the standings may be jumbled. It was getaway day for a number of road teams.

American League:

1. New York (96-62, won A.L. East). Tonight they host Baltimore for the last of three games with Daniel Cabrera (8-10, 5.05) taking the mound for the O’s against Darrell Rasner (3-0, 2.50) for the Yanks. At the moment it looks like Cabrera and the O’s are in command, leading 5-0 in the 6th. The Yankees host Toronto over the weekend.

2. DETROIT (95-64, leads A.L. Central by 1/2 game over Minnesota). The Tigers lost a matinee affair to Toronto 8-6 so their magic number essentially stays at 3 (a tie for the division title is a win for the Tigers.) The Tigers wrap up the season with 3 at home against Kansas City.

3. Oakland (92-66, won A.L. West). I wrote down tonight’s pitching matchup (Zito vs. Lackey) last night as Oakland starts their final 4-game series of the season in Los Angeles. Can you tell I was tired?

4. Minnesota (94-64, assured of no worse than wild-card). They finish up the 4 game series with the Royals now trying to draw into a tie with Detroit. Luke Hudson (7-6, 5.49) gets the nod for Kansas City against Minnesota’s Brad Radke (12-9, 4.46). After tonight, the White Sox come to Minnesota to conclude the regular season.

National League:

1. New York (93-65, won N.L. East). Fans in Washington will get to see the Mets’ second-stringers and rookies get some playing time this weekend.

2. San Diego (85-73, leads N.L. West by 1/2 game over Los Angeles). The Padres took 2 of 3 from St. Louis, now they end the season with 4 games in Arizona. First on the list is Jake Peavy (10-14, 4.13) for San Diego against Arizona’s Miguel Batista (11-7, 4.36). Magic number for the Padres is 4 for a division title and 3 for a playoff berth. Los Angeles (see below) already won today.

3. St. Louis (81-76, leads N.L. Central by 1 game over Houston). The pressure is on as Houston already won today. Now the Cardinals are in danger of being 1/2 game up if they lose a game in progress with Milwaukee. Doug Davis (10-11, 5.02) got the start for Milwaukee while the Cards sent out Jason Marquis (14-15, 5.80) and Milwaukee leads early, 2-0. This is the first of 4 against the Brew Crew in St. Louis that the Cards play this weekend.

4. Los Angeles (85-74, leads wild card by 1 1/2 games over Philadelphia). The Dodgers played a football game in Denver today, or at least the score was football-like as the Dodgers rolled 19-11 over the Rockies. Colorado must have came up short in the red zone late. Anyway, now the Dodgers head to San Francisco for a weekend 3 game series against their old rivals, the Giants.

5. Philadelphia (83-75). The Phillies are getting their backs firmly placed against the wall and worse yet a rainstorm in Washington has delayed their getaway game, possibly washing the Phillies out for tonight. If they can get it going, it will be Jon Lieber (9-10, 4.92) for the Phillies against Washington’s Michael O’Connor (3-8, 5.04). What also needs to be kept in mind is that Philadelphia needs to catch a plane to Miami tonight so they can play at Florida to finish the year, so a long delay is not helping their cause nor did the Dodgers’ earlier win.

6. Houston (81-78). They shut out the Pirates 3-0 this afternoon in Pittsburgh, now the question is whether Roger Clemens will pitch his last game tomorrow night in Atlanta. They’ve won 9 straight to make the N.L. Central a race.

7. Cincinnati (78-80). Their loss last night put the Reds’ season on life support, but nevertheless they sent out Kyle Lohse (4-10, 6.04 between the Twins and Reds) against Florida’s Ricky Nolasco (11-10, 4.70) and thus far the results are encouraging as Cincinnati leads in the 6th inning 5-1. But if they blow that lead and St. Louis wins, the Reds’ faint playoff hopes are snuffed out. The Reds close up shop this season in Pittsburgh.

It’s starting to look like the National League will have all of the excitement this weekend, with the exception of the A.L. Central title race. But all that determines is who would get the Yankees in the first round.

Baseball playoff update 9-27

These get shorter each night. All of the playoff teams are decided in the American League and now it’s a matter of seeding. The National League has three separate races underway now, battles for the NL West, NL Central, and wild card involve 6 teams.

(Late edit: I have tonight’s scores but there’s a few afternoon contests tomorrow so I’ll have a partial update when I do this tomorrow evening.)

American League:

1. New York (95-62, A.L. East champion). The Yankees attempt to maintain the lead they hold in the home field race, their magic number for that is 2 for the first round and 5 for the overall since they won the season series against Detroit. Tonight Baltimore is in Yankee Stadium and sends out Kris Benson (11-11, 4.49) against Chien-Ming Wang (18-6, 3.57).

2. DETROIT (95-62, leads A.L. Central by 1 game over Minnesota). The Tigers’ magic number is actually 4 to clinch the Central because they won the season series against the Twins. Since both teams are assured a postseason berth, there will be no playoff in the event of a tie. Toronto continues their trip with Ted Lilly (14-13, 4.41) facing Nate Robertson (13-12, 3.66).

3. Oakland (91-66, A.L. West champion). Unless the Athletics get hot, they’re going to be the lowest seeded division champ and will be forced to play 3 games on the East Coast. But they finally made it after several tries and send out Barry Zito (16-9, 3.89) to take on Seattle’s Gil Meche (11-8, 4.48) up in Washington state.

4. Minnesota (94-63, clinched at least wild card). The Twins continue their series against Kansas City and hope for a Detroit stumble. Kansas City’s Mark Redman (10-10, 5.83) is pitted against Carlos Silva (10-14, 5.95) for the Twins in the Homerdome.

National League:

1. New York (93-64, N.L. East champion). No worries.

2. San Diego (85-72, leads N.L. West by 2 over Los Angeles). Little noticed in their NL West race is that the Padres are drawing closer to punching a playoff ticket regardless of position – their magic number to secure a spot in the postseason is down to 3, and 4 to win the NL West. The Pads finish up their series in St. Louis tonight – Chris Young (11-5, 3.55) goes for the sweep of the tumbling Cardinals, he draws Anthony Reyes (5-7, 4.92) as the Cards’ starter.

3. St. Louis (80-76, leads N.L. Central by 1 1/2 over Houston). Their slide has made a race of the N.L. Central and kept two teams who probably should be making tee times for next week in the hunt. See San Diego above. However, St. Louis still has a magic number of 5 and sooner or later they’ll knock it down. At least they hope so!

4. Los Angeles (83-74, leads wild card by 1 game over Philadelphia). The Dodgers have flipped back on top as Philadelphia’s stumbled the last couple nights. Derek Lowe (15-8, 3.57) gets the ball for LA against Colorado’s Aaron Cook (9-14, 4.11) on what looks to be a chilly evening in Denver.

5. Philadelphia (82-75). Usually it’s the Marlins who screw up the Phillies’ playoff hopes. While they’ll get their chance this coming weekend, right now it’s the Nats who are throwing the wrench in Philly’s postseason drive. But the Phillies will start Cole Hamels (9-8, 4.06) against Washington’s Pedro Astacio (5-5, 6.12).

6. Houston (79-78). The surging Astros have stayed alive moreso because of the St. Louis swoon than they’ve held serve in the wild card chase. Houston goes with another rookie starter, Jason Hirsh (3-4, 5.83) against Pittsburgh’s Shawn Chacon (7-6, 6.25 between the Yankees and Pirates).

7. Cincinnati (78-79). A Los Angeles win tonight eliminates the Reds from the wild card race, but should both the Cards continue in the tank and the Astros fall in, Cincinnati still could be the most shocked participant in the playoffs as N.L. Central champs. They’re down in Miami tonight, Chris Michalak (2-3, 4.50) sets up shop against Mister No-hitter, Anibal Sanchez (9-3, 2.80).

For the first time in a few days no team can be eliminated tonight, but some can help themselves quite a bit by winning.

And if I get back in time from a couple things, I might make a political post! Maybe people miss those?

Hang in there, the regular season ends Sunday. But then I’ll be sitting up at night watching the playoffs – oh well.

Baseball playoff update 9-26

I see I was linked on Duvafiles, the post in question is here.

This will be quick since it’s past 12:30 a.m.

American League:

And then there were five as Chicago bit the dust bigtime tonight, 14-1. If Oakland manages to come back after blowing a 9-3 lead in Seattle, the four AL playoff teams will be set and they’re jockeying for position from here on out. The order would be like this:

1. New York (94-62, won A.L. East). They hold the tiebreaker over Detroit because they won the season series. Tomorrow the Yankees host Baltimore, Hayden Penn (0-3, 15.43) for Baltimore against the Yankees’ Cory Lidle (11-10, 4,86 between the Phillies and Yankees).

2. DETROIT (94-62, leads A.L. Central by 1 game over Minnesota). The Tigers face Toronto, it’s Dustin McGowan (1-1, 8.34) for the Jays against the Tigers’ Jeremy Bonderman (13-8, 4.11).

3. Oakland (91-65 if they win in Seattle, won A.L. West). Oakland continues the series in Seattle, Rich Harden (3-0, 3.79) takes on Jake Woods (6-3, 3.88).

4. Minnesota (93-63, clinched at least a wild card tonight). They continue to feast on Kansas City, the Royals send out Odalis Perez (6-8, 6.06) to tangle with Minnesota’s Johan Santana (18-6, 2.79).

Just in case Seattle takes it and keeps the Angels (85-71) alive in the A.L. West, it’s Texas and Robinson Tejada (4-4, 4.50) against Los Angeles’s Kelvim Escobar (11-13, 3.40).

National League:

1. New York (93-63) is set as N.L. East champs and best record.

2. San Diego (84-75, leads N.L. West by 2 games over Los Angeles). They beat St. Louis tonight and send ex-Cardinal Woody Williams (10-5, 3.53) out to pitch against Chris Carpenter (15-7, 2.93) on Tuesday.

3. St. Louis (80-75, leads N.L. Central by 2 1/2 games over Houston). See San Diego above.

4 (tie). Philadelphia (82-74). They were knocked off by the Astros, now they move on to Washington, a team who won 3 of 4 from the Mets. It’s Brett Myers (12-6, 3.94) vs. the Nats’ Ramon Ortiz (10-15, 5.40).

4. (tie) Los Angeles (82-74). The Dodgers open up a set in Colorado, sending Greg Maddux (13-14, 4.25) out to square off with Jason Jennings (9-12, 3.65).

6. Houston (78-78). Don’t look now, but the Astros are knocking on the NL Central door. They’re now off to Pittsburgh, where they reestablish order in their rotation by sending out Andy Pettitte (13-13, 4.31) against the Pirates’ Ian Snell (14-10, 4.67).

7. Cincinnati (77-79). The Reds begin an elimination matchup with Florida tonight, first-game loser is out of the wildcard and winner has to sweep all three to stay in it. It will be Matt Belisle (2-0, 4.45) for Cincinnati against the D-Train, Dontrelle Willis (12-11, 3.77) for Florida.

8. Florida (76-80). See Cincinnati above.

I could lose one or possibly two teams tomorrow, so the list is starting to grow shorter. With the Cardinals swooning, it puts the Astros and Reds in better shape for the division title than the wild-card.

Baseball playoff update 9-25

I actually have the Election Calendar ready to go, it will be posted above this once the games are settled.

Some teams are idle on Monday, and Sunday’s results were the end of the playoff road for the two NL teams on the bubble, Arizona and Atlanta. Monday could be cruel to others.

American League:

In:

DETROIT (94-62, lead AL Central by 1 1/2 games over Minnesota). The black cloud hanging over the Tigers for the last 20 seasons is finally dissipating as they have assured themselves at least a wild-card berth! Even better, by beating the Royals today combined with another stumble by the Yankees in Tampa, they now are in the catbird seat for home field advantage, at least for one day. The Yankees won the season series against the Tigers so they win the tiebreaker if it comes to that. The Tigers are idle Monday, they begin a series with Toronto on Tuesday. Magic number for the division title is now 6, for home field throughout is 7.

New York (93-62, AL East champions). The Yankees still control their own playoff destiny, but they need to figure out how to beat the D-Rays. Jaret Wright (10-7, 4.52) will get the chance against Tampa Bay’s Jae Seo (3-10, 4.85 between the Mets and Rays). After this game the Yankees are home the remainder of the season.

Possibly in after today:

Oakland (90-65, leads AL West by 6 over Los Angeles). Now that chilled champagne needs to be flown north with the team as they couldn’t clinch the AL West against the Angels. On Monday the Athletics send Esteban Loaiza (11-8, 4.70) to the hill against Seattle’s Cha Seung Baek (4-1, 3.67).

Minnesota (92-63, leads wild card by 5 1/2 over Chicago). The Twins took 2 of 3 in Baltimore but lost ground on the Tigers, who swept the Royals by a combined 33-11 score. Now those same Royals pay a visit to Minnesota before once again facing Detroit next weekend. The games have to be played though and the Royals will soldier on with Jorge De La Rosa (5-5, 6.66 between Milwaukee and Kansas City) facing the Twins’ Boof Bonser (6-5, 4.36). A win combined with a White Sox loss ends the one-season reign of Chicago as world champions.

Could be gone today:

Chicago (87-69). The White Sox hit the road for their last chance needing a LOT of help from the Royals. Chicago’s in Cleveland to start their last road trip, it’s Jon Garland (17-6, 4.37) for the Pale Hose facing the Tribe’s Cliff Lee (12-11, 4.58).

Los Angeles (84-71). The Angels try to stay alive to face the Athletics again next weekend, but first things first. Texas arrives in town and the Rangers will start Edinson Volquez (1-5, 6.53) against Joe Saunders (6-3, 4.29) for the Halos.

National League:

In:

New York (93-62) is in and has home field throughout.

Possibly in after today:

Nobody. This may not happen until about Thursday.

Working on that magic number:

San Diego (83-72, leads NL West by 1 1/2 games over Los Angeles). A huge series between the NL West and NL Central leaders begins Monday night. If things break right, it’s a possible playoff preview and would be a rematch of 2005’s NLDS. San Diego will send the veteran David Wells (2-5, 4.80 between Boston and San Diego) to the mound while the Cardinals counter with Jeff Suppan (12-7, 4.07).

St. Louis (80-74), leads NL Central by 3 1/2 over Houston). See San Diego above. The Cards had a lost weekend in Houston but now get home cooking where they’re 46-27. The magic number stays at 5.

Philadelphia (82-73, leads wild card by 1/2 game over Los Angeles). A makeup game tonight as the contest scheduled against Houston was rained out earlier this month. Now the Phillies will get the opportunity to eliminate the Astros. Houston is slated to send out rookie Matt Albers (0-2, 6.00) to face Randy Wolf (4-0, 5.47) but that’s subject to change.

Falling away:

Los Angeles (82-74). The Dodgers are idle on this Monday, Tuesday they start a series in Colorado.

Houston (77-78). See Philadephia above.

Could be gone today:

Cincinnati (76-79). Finishing their home season with an afternoon contest against the Cubs, they’ll face the slants of Chicago’s Wade Miller (0-2, 4.97) and counter with Bronson Arroyo (14-10, 3.38). The season’s on the line for the once-hot Reds in this one.

Florida (76-80). They can only watch and root for the Astros because the Marlins are idle.

San Francisco (75-80). It could be over playoff-wise before they begin, but San Francisco is slated to face the Arizona Diamondbacks on the banks of McCovey Cove. Arizona will toss out Edgar Gonzalez (2-3, 4.41) while the Giants place their hopes on Jason Schmidt (11-8, 3.50).

The update might be a lot shorter for Tuesday’s action as there’s now 3 teams on the bubble. With 3 late games and me not necessarily wanting to stay up half the night to find out how they came out, there’s going to be a partial update for Tuesday.

Baseball playoff update 9-24

Now 8 days to play until the end of the season next Sunday. We lost Boston but the Angels and Arizona stayed alive. Many of these teams are either finishing their road or home schedules today, which may be an advantage to those who will have home cooking the remainder of the season.

American League:

In:

New York (93-61, AL East champions). Their magic number to clinch home field remained 8 after losing yesterday, magic number for first round stayed at 7. Today the Yankees continue their series at Tampa Bay, Mike Mussina (14-6, 3.57) faces rookie Brian Stokes (0-0, 6.94).

Possibly in after today:

DETROIT (93-62, leads AL Central by 1 1/2 over Minnesota). A win today at Kansas City assures the Tigers at least a wild card. Justin Verlander (16-6, 3.74) goes for the Tiger sweep against the Royals’ Runelvys Hernandez (6-9, 6.40). For the division title, the Tigers’ magic number is now 7. They conclude the season at home after an off day tomorrow.

Oakland (90-64, leads AL West by 7 over Los Angeles). The champagne stayed on ice yesterday, but they again host the Angels in the series finale. Pitching matchup is Ervin Santana (14-8, 4.57) for Los Angeles against Danny Haren (14-12, 4.01) on the hill for Oakland. The Athletics would love to clinch the division in their home regular season finale.

Working on that magic number:

Minnesota (91-63, leads wild card by 5 1/2 over Chicago). The Twins square off against Baltimore in the finale at Camden Yards for 2006. Matt Garza (2-5, 5.40) is the Twins starter, the Orioles counter with Adam Loewen (6-5, 5.35). Their magic number to clinch at least a playoff berth dropped to 3 yesterday as they knocked off the O’s. Today’s ballgame is the last road game for Minnesota.

Falling away:

Chicago (86-69). The White Sox are still on the division title bubble today and a loss could drop their only hope to winning out and hoping the Twins lose all their games at Kansas City this week. Seattle’s rookie Ryan Feierabend (no record or ERA in 6 innings pitched) starts against onetime Mariner Freddy Garcia (15-9, 4.63), who shut down the Tigers for Chicago in his last outing. It’s the last home game for Chicago for the regular season and it’s looking likely to be the last for 2006.

Could be gone today:

Los Angeles (82-71). See Oakland above. A loss by the Angels and you can stick a fork in them. If they do win they will play home games the rest of the way.

National League:

In:

New York (93-61) is in and has home field throughout.

Possibly in after today:

Again, no team can clinch a playoff spot in the NL today.

Working on that magic number:

San Diego (82-72, leads NL West by 1 1/2 games over Los Angeles). San Diego got a little breathing room as they won last night while the Dodgers lost. Their home finale today against Pittsburgh sees Pirates’ minor league veteran Marty McLeary (1-0, 4.76) face the Padres’ Clay Hensley (10-11, 3.81). Magic number for the Padres is now 7 for the division title.

St. Louis (80-73, leads NL Central by 4 1/2 over Houston). The Cardinal swoon continues, they’ve dropped 5 in a row. Tonight they play on ESPN with Jeff Weaver (7-14, 5.84 between the Angels and Cards) against Houston’s future Hall-of-Famer (whenever he decides to retire!) Roger Clemens (7-5, 2.37). Their magic number to win yet another NL Central crown stayed at 5, but they do finish their season at home.

Philadelphia (81-73, leads wild card by 1/2 game over Los Angeles). They flipped places with Los Angeles as they won yesterday while LA lost. Today’s contest against the Marlins was supposed to be their last home game, but Philly fans get a bonus tomorrow night with a makeup game against Houston that now looms large. Youngster Scott Olsen (12-8, 3.87) goes for the Marlins against veteran lefty Jamie Moyer (9-14, 4.27 between Seattle and Philadelphia). Now they hold the magic number of 8 to secure the wild card.

Falling away:

Los Angeles (81-73). The Dodgers were blown out last night, so now they’ll sit and watch the scoreboard as the Phillies game should be concluding when they start. This will be the Dodgers’ last home game as they tangle with Arizona, it’s Livan Hernandez (12-13, 5.08) for the visitors and Hong-Chih Kuo (1-5, 4.72) on the mound in Dodger blue.

Houston (76-78). See St. Louis above. Could this be the final chance for Houston fans (and everyone else via national TV) to see the Rocket? He’s going on three days rest to pitch the Astros’ last scheduled home game.

Florida (76-79). See Philadelphia above. Florida finishes the season at home, but the question is now becoming if they’ll even draw 100,000 for their last 6 home games since they’re dropping from the race.

Cincinnati (75-79). The Reds continue a series with the Cubs today as they struggle to stay in the race. Rookie Juan Mateo (1-3, 4.38) gets the nod for the Cubs, he’ll square off with Aaron Harang (14-11, 3.91) for Cincinnati.

San Francisco (75-79). This Midwest trip has pretty much killed whatever chances the Giants had, but they’ll press on with Matt Cain (13-10, 3.99) as their starter against Milwaukee’s Ben Sheets (5-7, 4.21). After today San Francisco is home for what’s left of their season.

Could be gone today:

Atlanta (75-80). Another loss by the Braves last night has put them in an odd position, needing to win out to avoid a non-winning season for the first time in 15 years. That effort starts today in Colorado as the Braves go with Chuck James (10-4, 3.62) against the Rockies’ Juan Morillo (12-8, 4.62 at AA Tulsa) making his major league debut. Then the Braves come home for the last 6 games needing the miracle of all miracles to make the postseason.

Arizona (73-81). See Los Angeles above. Still seeking the .500 mark at least.

I’ll probably do tomorrow’s update during the St. Louis – Houston game tonight (since most games will be completed by then) so the standings may not quite be in perfect order unless one team’s getting blown out. A few teams have travel days tomorrow so the schedule will be lighter.

Baseball playoff update 9-23

9 days to play until the end of the season. Here’s how things shake out.

American League:

In:

New York (93-60, AL East champions). Their magic number to clinch home field throughout is 8, magic number for first round is 7. Tonight the Yankees are at Tampa Bay, Randy Johnson (17-10, 4.93) against J.P. Howell (0-3, 6.53).

Possibly in after today:

DETROIT (92-62, leads AL Central by 1 1/2 over Minnesota). A win today at Kansas City combined with a Chicago loss against the Mariners assures the Tigers at least a wild card. The game against the Royals has Kenny Rogers (16-6, 3.74) against Mark Redman (10-9, 5.33). For the division title, the Tigers’ magic number is 8.

Oakland (90-63, leads AL West by 8 over Los Angeles). Win today and they’re in, they host the Angels. Pitching matchup is John Lackey (11-11, 3.73) for Los Angeles against Joe Blanton (16-11, 4.74) for the Athletics.

Working on that magic number:

Minnesota (90-63, leads wild card by 5 1/2 over Chicago). They could by in by the end of the weekend, but can’t clinch today. The Twins square off against Baltimore at Camden Yards, Scott Baker (5-8, 6.33) takes the mound for Minnesota against the Orioles’ Eric Bedard (15-9, 3.62). Their magic number to clinch at least a playoff berth is 4.

Falling away:

Chicago (85-69). The White Sox could be eliminated from the division title today and a loss would all but doom their chances of a World Series repeat. Felix Hernandez (11-14, 4.68) takes the mound for visiting Seattle against Chicago’s Mark Buehrle (12-13, 4.79).

Could be gone today:

Boston (83-71). Last night they eliminated the Blue Jays, today the Jays could return the favor. Devern Hansack (8-7, 3.26 at AA Portland) makes his major league debut for Boston against the Blue Jays’ A.J. Burnett (8-8, 3.97).

Los Angeles (82-71). See Oakland above. A loss by the Angels and a Minnesota win would officially eliminate Los Angeles from the playoff picture.

National League:

In:

New York (92-61) is in and has home field throughout.

Possibly in after today:

No team can clinch a playoff spot in the NL today.

Working on that magic number:

San Diego (81-72, leads NL West by 1/2 game over Los Angeles). The Padres host Pittsburgh late tonight, Zach Duke (10-13, 4.49) goes for the Pirates against Jake Peavy (9-14, 4.25) for San Diego. Magic number for the Padres is 9 for both division title and wild card.

St. Louis (80-72, leads NL Central by 5 1/2 over Cincinnati and Houston). St. Louis continues a weekend series in Houston with Anthony Reyes (5-7, 4.92) on the hill for the Cards against the Astros’ Roy Oswalt (14-8, 3.05). St. Louis lost last night so their magic number to win yet another NL Central crown stayed at 5.

Los Angeles (81-73, leads wild card by 1/2 game over Philadelphia). In the final game of the evening, the Dodgers host Arizona. Pitching for the Diamondbacks will be Miguel Batista (10-7, 4.40) countered by the Dodgers’ Brad Penny (16-8, 4.13). Magic number to clinch a wild card is 9.

Falling away:

Philadelphia (80-73). Actually, they may be the team working on the magic number after tonight; certainly they’ll be scoreboard watching later. Hosting the Florida Marlins this afternoon, the Phillies will face Brian Moehler (7-9, 6.09) while they counter with Jon Lieber (8-10, 5.03).

Florida (76-78). See Philadelphia above. Two more losses to the Phillies this weekend and the Marlins’ improbable playoff run will be practically finished.

Cincinnati (75-78). The Reds host the lowly Cubs, but they also draw their best pitcher as Carlos Zambrano (15-6, 3.38) pitches for Chicago against Cincinnati’s Kyle Lohse (4-9, 5.81 overall between Minnesota and Cincinnati).

Houston (75-78). See St. Louis above. Tomorrow night the Astros could be driven to the brink of elimination on national TV.

San Francisco (75-78). The Giants lost a wild one in Milwaukee last night, tonight it’s Noah Lowry (7-10, 4.70) facing the Brewers’ Chris Capuano (11-11, 3.67).

Atlanta (75-79). Atlanta may have 2 days left in the “official” playoff picture, the National League playoffs without the Tomahawk Chop will be a bit strange. But the Braves press on in Colorado, who was eliminated last night. Atlanta sends Kyle Davies (3-5, 7.18) out against Jeff Francis (12-11, 3.88) of the Rockies.

Could be gone today:

Arizona (72-81). See Los Angeles above. They lost to the Dodgers last night to place themselves on the brink of elimination, now they need a 9-0 run just to make .500 for the season.

Tomorrow’s “could be gone today” column in the NL looks to be a lot fatter. It’s almost ridiculous that 11 teams out of 16 still have a shot. What’s really bad is that a team just a few games over .500 will sneak in while teams like the White Sox, Angels, or Red Sox will be left out. Another reason to hate interleague play.

Standings report: 2 weeks to go

Baseball is getting down to the nitty gritty. With two weeks to go, there’s still nine AL teams and a whopping 14 NL teams who are still mathematically alive for the postseason; however, I’m going to ignore those who are likely going to be bounced this week. If their playoff elimination number is 6 or less, they ain’t gonna make it.

American League:

1. New York (90-58 pending tonight’s game with Boston, 10 1/2 game lead in AL East)

Magic number: 4 (or 2 if they win tonight) for division, 13 for home field

Remaining schedule: 3 at Tor, 4 at TB, 3 vs. Bal, 3 vs. Tor (composite 149 games under .500)

Because the Tigers have faded the Yankees will likely get home field throughout the playoffs. During the Toronto series they’ll likely punch their ticket to the playoffs in front of the Canadian fans. I think this will be something like 11 straight division titles?

2. DETROIT (89-60, 1 game lead in AL Central)

Magic number: 13 for division, 9 for playoffs

Remaining schedule: 3 at Chi, 1 at Bal, 3 at KC, 3 vs. Tor, 3 vs. KC (composite 141 games under .500)

While the schedule looks easy, it’s not like the White Sox are pushovers despite their recent fade and the Royals have played inspired ball the last month or so, passing Tampa Bay as far as overall record.

3. Minnesota (88-61, 4 game lead for wild card)

Magic number: 10 for wild card

Remaining schedule: 3 at Bos, 3 at Bal, 4 vs. KC, 3 vs. Chi (composite 109 games under .500)

The last series with the White Sox will probably eliminate one or the other, although I’ll take a heaping helping of inspired Royals ball against the Twins, please.

4. Oakland (86-62, 7 game lead in AL West)

Magic number: 7

Remaining schedule: 4 vs. Cle, 3 vs. LA, 3 at Sea, 4 at LA (composite 9 games over .500)

They lead LA by 7 games and play them 7 times. Enough said.

5. Chicago (84-65)

Remaining schedule: 3 vs. Det, 4 vs. Sea, 3 at Cle, 3 at Min (composite 110 games over .500)

None of their 13 remaining games are a bargain. While for the better part of the summer they remained close enough to Detroit to enable them to sweep a series with the Tigers and get to first, now that’s not possible. They have to keep the Twins in their sights now for that 3 game finale in the Metrodome.

Mathematically alive: Boston (80-69 pending tonight’s contest), Los Angeles (80-70), Toronto (79-70), Texas (76-74)

Also-rans: Seattle (71-78), Cleveland (69-79), Baltimore (64-85), Kansas City (58-92), Tampa Bay (57-92). The Royals in particular would love to avoid losing 100 games and be a spoiler at the same time.

National League:

1. New York (90-58, 13 1/2 game lead in NL East)

Magic number: 1 for division, 5 for home field

Remaining schedule: 4 vs. Fla, 4 vs. Was, 3 at Atl, 3 at Was (composite 103 games under .500)

I was shocked that they didn’t already clinch the East this weekend, instead they were swept by the lowly Pirates. Maybe they just wanted to do it at Shea, which they almost certainly will in the next day or two. By the end of the Florida series they might even gain home field throughout the NL playoffs.

2. St. Louis (79-68, 7 game lead in NL Central)

Magic number: 8

Remaining schedule: 3 at Mil, 4 at Hou, 3 vs. SD, 4 vs. Mil (composite 105 games under .500)

They have been the beneficiary of Cincinnati’s plummet from the race moreso than themselves playing good baseball. But they’re winning the “we don’t get to face the Mets until the NLCS” race for now.

3. San Diego (78-70, 1/2 game lead in NL West)

Magic number: 14 for division, 13 for playoffs

Remaining schedule: 1 vs. LA, 3 vs. Arz, 3 vs. Pit, 3 at StL, 4 at Arz (composite 81 games under .500)

That series with St. Louis looms large as far as number 2 seed goes but you can’t figure them to even make the playoffs yet with their close division and wild card races.

4. Los Angeles (78-71, 1 game lead for wild card)

Magic number: 13 for wild card

Remaining schedule: 1 vs. SD, 3 vs. Pit, 3 vs. Arz, 3 at Col, 3 at SF (composite 118 games under .500)

Obviously they have the easier schedule than San Diego does as the best team they have left is 74-74 San Francisco. But like Kansas City, the Pirates have looked a lot better in September and just swept the Mets. Could they damage another team?

5. Philadelphia (77-72)

Remaining schedule: 3 vs. Chi, 3 vs. Fla, 1 vs. Hou, 3 at Was, 3 at Fla (composite 153 games under .500)

The Marlins have done in the Phillies’ playoff chances a couple times in the last few years, and they’ll get another opportunity to do so this season. Playing the Cubs at home is almost a must-sweep situation.

6. San Francisco (74-74)

Remaining schedule: 3 at Col, 4 at Mil, 3 vs. Arz, 3 vs. LA (composite 93 games under .500)

Losing a game today at St. Louis due to rain may be the worst thing to happen to their hopes as they trail Los Angeles by 3 in the loss column and play them 3 times at the end. Since the Giants and Cards have no common off days left this may be a battle for October 2nd just to see if the Giants can get in the playoffs, but it’s doubtful they will anyhow.

Mathematically alive: Florida (74-75), Cincinnati (73-76), Atlanta (72-77), Houston (71-77), Arizona (71-78), Colorado (69-80)

Also-rans: Washington (65-84), Pittsburgh (63-87), Chicago (61-89). The Pirates have passed the Cubs for the NL basement, and they’ve got some talented young pitching there. The Cubs had talented young pitching about 3-4 years ago, now they have denizens of the DL.

If the playoffs started based on tonight’s standings, it would be:

AL – New York vs. Minnesota, Detroit vs. Oakland
NL – New York vs. Los Angeles, St. Louis vs. San Diego

Joy in Mudhenville – again!!

It’s back2back championships for the Toledo Mud Hens!!! They won the IL pennant tonight by blasting Rochester 10-1 in front of a sold-out frenzied crowd of 10,300 at Fifth Third Field.

2006 was much different for the Hens. Last year they cruised to the best record in the IL and, after escaping Norfolk to get past the first round, they swept the wildcard Indianapolis Indians to win their first pennant since 1967 (I was 2 years old when they won.) This year, they blew their first opportunity to lay the hammer down and win the division on the last day of the season, so Toledo fans had to sweat out a one-game playoff at Fifth Third against Indianapolis just to become eligible for the playoffs with the worst record of the four IL playoff teams at 77-66.

After a Game 1 loss to Charlotte at home, the Hens recovered in Game 2 to even the series – however, the last 3 games were scheduled in the Knights’ Castle, when Toledo was 0-4 this season (the last two scheduled regular season contests for the Hens in Charlotte were wiped out because of Tropical Storm Ernesto in late August.) But the Hens managed to broom the two contests in Charlotte and advance to the IL finals against the Rochester Red Wings, who were the IL wild card but knocked out the league’s best team recordwise (Scranton-Wilkes Barre). Much like the 2005 IL playoffs, the team with the better record (Rochester) was forced to play 3 road games, but this time it would be to Toledo’s advantage.

Toledo won the opener in New York, but dropped the second game there and the first back at home to fall behind in the series 2-1. But last night’s 6-0 whitewash of the Red Wings evened the series and set the stage for tonight’s heroics. Toledo took a 2-0 lead in the first, added 4 in the second on three homers and never looked back as the party could begin at home this season.

And as an added bonus, the Mud Hens advance to play the PCL champion Tucson Sidewinders in the first “Bricktown Showdown” on “the deuce” (ESPN2) Tuesday night from Oklahoma City. (Of course, that’s my bowling night. Hopefully they start at 7 p.m. local time so I can catch the end.)

Now I hope this is a sign of things to come. As the playoffs turned out, the Detroit Tigers’ top farm club first disposed of the Chicago White Sox’s top affiliate then defeated the top-level Minnesota Twins farmhands. I’ll happily take that Detroit/Minnesota/Chicago order in the AL Central this season as well.