Binge Sports: MLB-6 Weeks To Go
It’s crunch time, folks. Welcome back to Binge Sports and our continuing coverage of the 2015 Major League Baseball season. Now, I know I’ve been giving updates at the beginning of each month, but things are getting so damn exciting that I just couldn’t wait until September. The postseason is right around the corner, and speaking of which, MLB released that schedule on Monday. For more on that, please click HERE for my thoughts on the World Series spilling into November. And before you try to correct me, yes, I realize that there’s technically a few days more than six weeks to go in the season, but you get the gist, I think. A few weeks ago, I said that things were heating up in baseball. Well, as it turns out, I was absolutely correct. Outside of the American League Central, which the Kansas City Royals have locked up, every single division is up for grabs. Division rivals will be playing each other a lot in the last six weeks of the season, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see some of these races come down to the final week, possibly even the final day of the season on October 4th. So let’s see where we’re at right now with the standings, who’s leading, who’s in it, who’s out of it, and which teams would be in the playoffs if they started today. And of course, our season-long vote continues for each division, along with the newer vote on which five teams you think will make the playoffs from each league. That’s eight chances to vote. Where else can you find that but right here at Binge Sports? Let’s get to it.
AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST
W L PCT. GB WCGB
New York 66 52 .559 —- ——–
Toronto 66 54 .550 1.0 +3.5
Baltimore 61 57 .517 5.0 0.5
Tampa Bay 59 60 .496 7.5 3.0
Boston 53 66 .445 13.5 9.0
So, how about those Bluejays? They went all in at the trade deadline and it is paying off quite nicely. They went on an eleven-game winning streak, but they were brought back to reality by losing two out of three to…yep, the New York Yankees. I have a feeling this back and forth has just begun. Baltimore isn’t out of it by any means. September means a lot of baseball within the division. With how close this division has been throughout the season, they could be in the top spot in two weeks. The AL East is going to come down to the wire, and it’s going to be fun to watch.
With the trade deadline moves came the votes for the Bluejays. They haven’t been much of a factor in the voting this season, but as I predicted, they’ve moved up and are actually tied with the Yankees for the moment at 29.2%. The early Boston vote is still hanging in there with 16.7%, but the Rays and Orioles are catching up at 12.5% apiece. I look for this vote to go back and forth, much like the division race. Who takes it?
[yop_poll id=”205″ tr_id=””” show_results=”-1″]
AMERICAN LEAGUE CENTRAL
W L PCT. GB WCGB
Kansas City 72 46 .610 —- ——–
Minnesota 59 60 .496 13.5 3.0
Detroit 57 61 .483 15.0 4.5
Chicago 55 62 .470 16.5 6.0
Cleveland 55 63 .466 17.0 6.5
There’s not much to report here. The Royals are good. The end. I kid, I kid. But seriously, the Royals are a very good baseball team. The second-place Twins and third-place Tigers are still a factor in the wild card race. I suppose the White Sox are too, but they’d have to jump over a lot of teams to get there. The same can be said for the Indians. If I had to make a guess right now, I’d predict the Royals will be the only team from the AL Central to make the postseason.
I think if I had started this poll in June, the Royals would be at 100%. Maybe next year, I’ll reset the results each month. But I’ve committed to a season-long vote, so the Royals sit at 60%. There’s really no reason to mention the rest of the voting. This division race is over.
[yop_poll id=”206″ tr_id=””” show_results=”-1″]
AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST
W L PCT. GB WCGB
Houston 65 55 .542 —- ——–
Los Angeles 62 57 .521 2.5 ——–
Texas 60 58 .508 4.0 1.5
Seattle 56 64 .467 9.0 6.5
Oakland 52 69 .430 13.5 11.0
Houston refuses to give up that top spot, but the Angels aren’t the only ones chasing them now. Behind some very solid play as of late, along with one of the best road records in baseball, the Texas Rangers have thrown their hat in the ring in the AL West. Can Houston continue to hang on? September will decide their fate. They’ve got six left with the Angels and seven left with the Rangers. That should make for some interesting movement within the division.
Who knew the Rangers would creep into the mix? 0% of you, that’s who. Houston has taken the lead back in the fan vote at 44.4%, up almost 17% from two weeks ago. As in the division, the Angels are in second at 40.7%.
[yop_poll id=”207″ tr_id=””” show_results=”-1″]
Let’s check the results from the poll that asks you which five teams will make the American League Playoffs.
Kansas City-93%
Los Angeles-93%
Houston-79%
Toronto-71%
New York-64%
As it stands today, you’ve picked exactly right, but with all the teams fighting for the wild card spot, it could change from day to day. Keep voting.
[yop_poll id=”246″ tr_id=””” show_results=”-1″]
IF THE PLAYOFFS STARTED TODAY
NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST
W L PCT. GB WCGB
New York 64 55 .538 —- ——–
Washington 59 59 .500 4.5 8.5
Atlanta 53 66 .445 11.0 15.0
Miami 49 70 .412 15.0 19.0
Philadelphia 46 73 .387 18.0 22.0
Washington trounced Colorado last night, but the Mets were able to get by the Baltimore Orioles to maintain a 4.5 game lead. Washington was able to get back to .500, but New York has been playing good baseball as of late and are armed (get it?) with one of the best young pitching staffs in the game. Washington has all the potential in the world and expectations were very high going into the season. They’ll need a good finish to the year to keep up.
Even with the hot start to the year by the Mets, along with their ability to not get too far behind even when they cooled off, the believers simply aren’t voting. The Nationals still have 65% of the fan vote. The numbers are up for the Mets at 30%. Can they hang on and win the division. They’ll need to, as the second-place finisher in this division will more than likely be out of the playoffs. Who’s it going to be?
[yop_poll id=”208″ tr_id=””” show_results=”-1″]
NATIONAL LEAGUE CENTRAL
W L PCT. GB WCGB
St. Louis 76 43 .639 —- ——–
Pittsburgh 70 47 .598 5.0 +3.0
Chicago 67 50 .573 8.0 ——–
Cincinnati 51 66 .436 24.0 16.0
Milwaukee 51 70 .421 26.0 18.0
The NL Central boasts three of the four best records in all of baseball. Yes, it’s still true that the third-place Cubs would be winning every other division besides the AL Central. You can read about their chances of winning the division HERE. But the Pirates and Cardinals continue to play great baseball as well. The Pirates gained ground on the Cardinals last night and added to their wild card lead on the Cubs with a big win last night. But there are a lot of games between these three teams as the season winds down. The Cardinals still have to be the favorite here, but with three teams playing this well, anything could happen.
St. Louis is still the overwhelming favorite in the fan poll, taking in 71.4% of the vote. The Cubs are second with 19% while the Pirates round it out with the remaining 9.6%.
[yop_poll id=”209″ tr_id=””” show_results=”-1″]
NATIONAL LEAGUE WEST
W L PCT. GB WCGB
Los Angeles 67 52 .563 —- ——–
San Francisco 65 54 .546 2.0 3.0
Arizona 58 60 .492 8.5 9.5
San Diego 58 62 .483 9.5 10.5
Colorado 48 69 .410 18.0 19.0
The NL West is still a two-team race. The Dodgers and Giants are going to battle for the remainder of the season for the division crown. Two games currently separate the two teams. With the wild card race basically boiling down to three teams in the Pirates, Cubs, and the team that doesn’t win this division, every single game will be crucial down the stretch. The teams still have six games against one another as well. As I said a few weeks ago, this may come down to the very last day. As luck would have it, the teams finish the regular season with a three-game set in San Francisco.
The Giants picked up a game in the standings last night, and also picked up a few points in the polls over the last two weeks. The Dodgers still lead with 51.9% of the vote, but the Giants are now at 44.4%.
[yop_poll id=”210″ tr_id=””” show_results=”-1″]
Let’s take a look at the results thus far in the voting for the five teams you think will make the National League Playoffs.
St. Louis Cardinals-93%
Los Angeles Dodgers-93%
Washington Nationals-80%
Chicago Cubs-73%
Pittsburgh Pirates-67%
Voting is still open. You’ve got four of the five teams correct. As in the NL East poll, there’s not a lot of faith in the New York Mets.
[yop_poll id=”247″ tr_id=””” show_results=”-1″]
IF THE PLAYOFFS STARTED TODAY
Okay, who you got? It’s going to be an exciting six weeks in the baseball world. Is your team still in it? Let me know below or hit me up on Twitter @BingeSports and @THElukenorris to give me your thoughts. And if you’re itching for an all-new Binge SportsCast, fear not. Batch and I will be coming your way this weekend with an epic SummerSlam preview and I’ll be back in a week or so with yet another all-new episode. And if you haven’t already, sign up for the Binge Media Newsletter for exclusive content and make sure to check out all the new items in the Binge Media Merchandise shop, which includes a great item for your teabags. Binge On! Or whatever the kids are saying these days.