Binge Sports: MLB-Two Months To Go
Welcome back to Binge Sports and our continuing coverage of the 2015 Major League Baseball season. August has arrived and the temperature isn’t the only thing heating up. The trade deadline has passed and the playoff races are packed with possible contenders. There’s a few runaways going on, but with the wild card and especially the second wild card spot, there are so many teams that are still in contention for a playoff berth. As my guest co-host Jim Poljak discussed at length in our MLB version of the Binge SportsCast a few weeks ago, things are only going to get better as the weeks progress down the stretch. So before ESPN kills you with football coverage and every single injury to a pinkie toe, let’s get into some baseball with Binge Sports.
AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST
W L PCT. GB WCGB
New York 60 45 .571 —- ——–
Toronto 56 52 .519 5.5 ——–
Baltimore 54 52 .509 6.6 1.0
Tampa Bay 54 54 .500 7.5 2.0
Boston 47 60 .439 14.0 8.5
A month ago, this division was separated by only five games from top to bottom, but the Yankees have created a little breathing room for themselves. However, they certainly haven’t run away with this division, especially with the surprising moves made by the Toronto Bluejays. It’s certainly too soon to see how those will play out as the season winds down, but they certainly were more aggressive than what I thought they would be. Baltimore continues to play solid baseball as well. The Rays would have to jump three teams to get to the top, which can be difficult this late in the year, but they’re right in the middle of the wild card race. I don’t know if the Red Sox have enough time to make the move they would need to make to play in October, but I suppose stranger things have happened.
I think some of the early voting is still showing through as Boston still leads the AL East poll at 26.7%, with New York, Tampa Bay, and Baltimore tied for second at 20%. Toronto rounds it out at 13.3%, but we’ll see if that number rises with the new lineup.
[yop_poll id=”205″ tr_id=””” show_results=”-1″]
AMERICAN LEAGUE CENTRAL
W L PCT. GB WCGB
Kansas City 63 42 .600 —- ——–
Minnesota 54 52 .509 9.5 1.0
Detroit 51 55 .481 12.5 4.0
Chicago 50 55 .476 13.0 4.5
Cleveland 49 57 .462 14.5 6.0
The Kansas City Royals are dominating this division. Honestly, I wasn’t sure if they could live up to the hype after that World Series run last year, but they’ve shown that they’re one of the best teams in baseball. The Twins have continued to play consistent baseball just above .500 and have put themselves in position to make a run at the postseason in a wild card capacity. The Tigers haven’t been able to put together a decent run to make up any ground in the division, but are still right there in the wild card race as well. The team that’s made the most noise this past month has been the Chicago White Sox, who have actually put themselves in the wildcard conversation with some very good baseball. And then there’s the Indians, who came into the season with very high hopes, but would need a lot of help to climb back into this thing.
There was a ton of Cleveland votes at the beginning of the season with those high hopes as they still hold 20% of this vote, but Kansas City easily leads the division poll at 46.7%, which is a very good bet right now. Can anybody catch the Royals? Vote now.
[yop_poll id=”206″ tr_id=””” show_results=”-1″]
AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST
W L PCT. GB WCGB
Houston 60 48 .556 —- ——–
Los Angeles 56 50 .528 3.0 +1.0
Texas 53 53 .500 6.0 2.0
Seattle 50 58 .463 10.0 6.0
Oakland 48 60 .444 12.0 8.0
We’ve got a two team race in the West. For those waiting for the ball to drop in Houston, I don’t think it’s coming. The Astros continue to play amazing baseball, but the Angels are still right there only a few games behind. If the Rangers were to go on a crazy winning streak, they could possible put themselves in the division race, but a run at a wild card spot seems more likely. As for the Mariners and A’s, better luck next year.
As for the poll, the Binge Sports fans still think that the Angels will indeed catch the Astros as they lead the way with 50% of the vote with the Astros coming in at 27.8%. These two teams will play each other six times in September. Vote wisely.
[yop_poll id=”207″ tr_id=””” show_results=”-1″]
During the MLB podcast, I revealed a new poll (I know, another one?) asking you which five teams you thought would make the playoffs, obviously the three division winners and the two wildcard spots. Here’s the results as they stand right now.
1. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim-100%
2. Kansas City Royals-75%
3. Toronto Bluejays, Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays, Houston Astros, Minnesota Twins-50%
4. Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers-25%
This voting actually makes a lot of sense right now. With eight teams within 4 games of each other for the final wild card spot, there’s so much up in the air right now. Here’s another chance for you to vote. Remember you must vote for five teams. Beneath the poll, you’ll see exactly what we’re looking at if the playoffs started today.
[yop_poll id=”246″ tr_id=””” show_results=”-1″]
IF THE PLAYOFFS STARTED TODAY
NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST
W L PCT. GB WCGB
New York 57 50 .533 —- ——-
Washington 55 50 .524 1.0 3.0
Atlanta 48 59 .449 9.0 11.0
Miami 43 64 .402 14.0 16.0
Philadelphia 42 65 .393 15.0 17.0
Okay, the Mets aren’t going away. A month ago, I said that the Mets would slowly drop off with the injury problems they were having, but I’ve been proven wrong. Here they sit, right atop the National League East. The Nationals are still right there, but this is certainly a surprise, and a good one for Mets fans. I still think that Washington is the better overall team, but this race is going to be extremely entertaining down the stretch. These two teams have a three game set the first week in September, but that’s it. The rest of the games are against other teams, so we’ll have to wait and see how each team responds to the pressure.
As of right now, the Binge Sports poll shows that you believe that the Nationals will win this division. Every month, their numbers have gone up. It started at 50, rose to 67, then 75 last month, but Washington now has more than 83% of the fan vote. With this Mets resurgence, will the numbers change?
[yop_poll id=”208″ tr_id=””” show_results=”-1″]
NATIONAL LEAGUE CENTRAL
W L PCT. GB WCGB
St. Louis 67 39 .632 —- ——–
Pittsburgh 61 44 .581 5.5 +3.0
Chicago 58 47 .552 8.5 ——–
Cincinnati 48 56 .462 18.0 9.5
Milwaukee 45 63 .417 23.0 14.5
I still firmly believe that this is the strongest division in baseball, at least in the top three spots. Think about this. The third place Chicago Cubs have the seventh best record in baseball. St. Louis continues to hold the top spot by playing typical Cardinals baseball, but the Pittsburgh Pirates have continued to stay in the running and currently hold the first wild card position by a few games. I don’t think that the Cubs can win this division, but they’ll be looking to slide into the playoffs in one of those wild card spots, but that will certainly be a challenge as well.
As they lead the division, the Cardinals still lead the way in the fan vote as well with 53.8% of the vote. 30.8% of you still believe the Cubs can catch up, and Pittsburgh supporters have finally chimed in and have the remaining 15.4%. Which way are you leaning?
[yop_poll id=”209″ tr_id=””” show_results=”-1″]
NATIONAL LEAGUE WEST
W L PCT. GB WCGB
Los Angeles 60 46 .566 —- ——–
San Francisco 58 48 .547 2.0 0.5
San Diego 52 55 .486 8.5 7.0
Arizona 51 54 .486 8.5 7.0
Colorado 44 61 .419 15.5 14.0
As was the case last month, this is still a two team race in the NL West. The Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants continue their great rivalry in 2015 as they battle for this division title. Both teams have an excellent chance to make the playoffs, but winning the division keeps you out of that anything can happen wild card game, so there’s certainly an advantage to the team that can make it out of this on top. The two teams play three in LA starting August 31st and close out the season with a three game set in San Francisco. This could very well go down to the last day.
The Dodgers currently hold the lead in the fan poll at 52.9%, but the Giants are close with 41.2%. You’re running out of time to change your mind. Get your vote in today.
[yop_poll id=”210″ tr_id=””” show_results=”-1″]
Now that you’ve got the division voting out of the way, let’s take a look at how the Binge Sports audience has been voting for the playoffs.
1. St. Louis Cardinals, Washington Nationals, Los Angeles Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirates-100%
2. Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants-50%
And that’s it. Thus far, you’ve only voted for six teams in the National League. It seems as if you firmly believe that those four teams listed at number one will be in and the Cubs and Giants will battle for that second wild-card spot. The Mets might have something to say about that, but you’re pretty close to what’s actually happening. But with fifty-five to sixty games left, you never know what could happen. Keep voting.
[yop_poll id=”247″ tr_id=””” show_results=”-1″]
IF THE PLAYOFFS STARTED TODAY
There you have it. There’s a ton of great baseball coming your way as the regular season winds down and I’m certain that I’ll have Jim Poljak back on the show as the postseason gets started in October. Until then, stay tuned for an all-new Binge SportsCast coming your way very soon. We’ve got SummerSlam on the horizon, so Batch and I will be bringing a new wrestling version your way in a little over two weeks as well. If you missed the last show where Garrett joined us to talk the Hulk Hogan fiasco, click HERE to check it out. And yes, the NFL season is upon us as well. Camps are in full swing, so coverage of the upcoming season will be coming your way very soon. I’m currently thinking about different options to handle the season, so if you have any suggestions on that or anything else, please leave them below or follow me on Twitter @BingeSports and @THElukenorris. And as always, check back to the site every single day for new podcasts, daily posts, and make sure to sign up for the Binge Media Newsletter for exclusive content and also make a visit to the new Binge Media merchandise store by clicking the “Shop” link at the top of this page. Binge Media is stronger than ever so I wouldn’t want you to get left behind. Enjoy.