With the final day of September coming to a close, and the regular season set to end in a mere three days, the American League remained with the playoff picture in limbo. The National League, is all but set, with just the second wild card position available, but the AL had no clinches.
However, like many things in baseball, things change quickly. While this morning, nobody in the American League had clinched playoff spots, now, three teams have. With the Texas Rangers win tonight over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles and Rangers have all clinched a playoff spot. There are only two playoff spots reaming now, the final wild card and the AL Central. Right now, the O’s and Yankees are once again tied for the AL East, and could very easily end up playing 163 games to decide who gets the wild card and who gets the division. Who else loved that game a few years ago in Colorado when the Rockies and Padres duked it out in the extra game to decide who would go to the playoffs and who went home.
Starting tomorrow, the Rangers are in town to take on the Oakland A’s in what is going to have huge impact on the playoff picture. With the A’s sitting two games out in the AL West and one game out in the wild card, this series against the Rangers is huge. Huge doesn’t even seem to be the right word. By the time Wednesday rolls around and the regular season ends, things could be very interesting. The two teams are battling it out for the division title, and depending on how the series goes, either one of them could take it. I’m so excited to go to the game on Wednesday!
The Chicago White Sox. What the heck happened? A month ago, the White Sox were well on their way to the playoffs, and now they’re sitting three games back of the Detroit Tigers. In their last ten games, the White Sox have only managed two wins, while the Tigers have won seven. I thought the Sox had a chance to do well this season and they were doing well until recently. The Tigers on the other hand are starting to look like the team everybody thought they would be, plus they have the two top strikeout pitchers in the majors with Verlander and Scherzer. The schedule is in favor of the White Sox, if I had to pick. The Tigers face the Kansas City Royals, who have played extremely well this year (looking forward to seeing what they can do next year), while the White Sox are taking on the Cleveland Indians, who have struggled to perform this year.
I’m glad to see the American League final clinch some playoff spots, and look forward to the rest. Hard to believe there is only three games left, so bummed.
Out of Left Field 