Pennant races heat up after midsummer classic
Giants appear set for another magical run as second half of the season gets underway
The all-star fun is done. Now it's time for the stretch run.
You bet, that's catchy. But baseball is poetry in motion, after all.
With that, let's wax poetic about what lies ahead in the playoff race.
The Atlanta Braves (44-45) without Ronald Acuna Jr. (ACL tear) are done, right? That is, they were done until they acquired Joc Pederson from the Chicago Cubs to stay in the National League fight. Really, the Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies (44-44) aren't far out of the NL East lead, and do you really trust the enigmatic New York Mets (47-40) not to bleed?
The Cubs (44-46) appear to be done after going 2-8 before the break. They've lost NL Central ground on the Milwaukee Brewers (53-39) and the surging Cincinnati Reds (48-42), who we think are fake. But there aren't enough bats to fuel the Brew Crew, so why can't the Cubbies stage a late-season coup?
Over in the NL West, that's where you'll find the best teams. And it's not like it's the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers (56-35) and then all the rest. The San Diego Padres (53-40) have proven they can keep up with the kings. And this has the makings of another magical San Francisco Giants (57-32) season that ends with rings.
The other fun race is in the American League East, where there are four legitimate threats, to say the least. But with all eyes on the surprising Boston Red
Sox (55-36), the underachieving New York Yankees (46-43) and the talented Toronto Blue Jays (45-42), it just feels like the team destined to rise up once again will be those no-name Tampa
Bay Rays (53-37).
In the AL Central, it's much more ho-hum, with the Chicago White Sox (54-35) well ahead of the field. It just seems like the Cleveland Indians (45-42) aren't much of a threat, and with the rest of them dogs, the Pale Hose are truly the only real bet.
So we round it all out with the AL West, where there are only two teams battling for top spot. Yes, that's a knock on the Seattle Mariners (48-43), who are just like the Reds. It's time for their ship to sink, leaving the Houston Astros (55-36) and the Oakland Athletics (52-40) both in the pink. But which one will win out in the end? Those dastardly Astros, no doubt.
AROUND THE BASES
OK, so that was oh so corny, but here are our picks for the playoffs in short: The Braves, Cubs, Dodgers, Rays, White Sox and Astros will win their respective divisions, with the Giants, Padres, Red Sox and Blue Jays earning wild-card berths.
Of course, that finish would depend on a dramatic drop off by both the A's and the Brewers — two teams that are often overlooked, which is what we're doing here.
Of course, if the Cubbies indeed deal 1B/3B/OF Kris Bryant in the coming days, then we reserve the right to replace them with the Brewers, because there just aren't any other squads that are strong enough in the NL Central ... Other players expected to be dealt in due course include: Colorado Rockies SS Trevor Story, to continue the fire sale in Denver; OF Byron Buxton and DH Nelson Cruz because the Minnesota Twins (39-50) have imploded; and, OF Joey Gallo with — surprise, surprise — the Texas Rangers (35-55) being terrible once again ... Word is the Yankees might want Gallo. Just what they need — another underachieving bat in that lineup, even though he's an All-star (but really, who else was going to represent the Rangers?) ... How would you like to see the Blue Jays pry P Craig Kimbrel out of Chicago? One of MLB'S best-ever closers would be a great deadline addition for any contender, and especially good for the Jays, who need a stud in the bullpen.
EXTRA INNINGS
The MLB slate got back in full swing on Friday night with a whopping 17 games on the calendar, thanks to a couple of doubleheaders (Twins-detroit Tigers and Phillies-miami Marlins) ... The idea was to feast your eyeballs on the Red Sox-yankees this weekend. That rivalry was supposed to continue Thursday until COVID stuck its filthy nose into the Yankees clubhouse, making for an uncertain future in a series that's seen the Sox win all six 2021 meetings over the Evil Empire. These games were set for the Bronx with a rematch of four more on the agenda next weekend in Beantown. Eight great games that could go a long way toward determining which team — if either — can top the talented AL East ... The Sox brought up OF Jarren Duran and P Tanner Houck for this series
... Another hyped prospect, OF Jarred Kelenic, is back up with the Seattle Mariners to start the second half. The phenom didn't fare well in his first 23-game call-up, hitting a measly 0.96
... Back with the Sox, the Chris Sale watch is on, as he prepares to pitch for Double-a Portland as he takes the next step in his rehab after having Tommy John surgery. The ace is expected to be spinning gems in the bigs in August. Now that's a trade deadline acquisition.