It's a 10-game season

wordygurdy · **Posted:** Fri Sep 23, 2005 10:45 am

Fellow TCEer Ndugan1 doesn't have anything to worry about this week because his Cardinals are already ticketed for the World Series. (Though the Astros might have a little something to say about that, right, Ndugan1?)

But we fans of the American League have a 10-game season on our hands in which the fate of the Yankees, Red Sox, Indians and White Sox will determine who goes to the postseason and who goes home.

Will two teams come out of the East? Will the Indians overtake the White Sox? Will the White Sox collapse to the point of missing the postseason altogether? Will the Angels hold off the A's?

It doesn't get much better than this, at least in September.

Anyone have any predictions? I'm almost afraid to jinx the Yanks by making a prediction of my own, but given the way they have played lately and the apparent return of Mike Mussina to good health, I'm optimistic they will make the postseason, either as the wild card or the East champs.

Something tells me the Indians will win the Central and the White Sox will in fact collapse. I think the Angels will hold off the A's.

Matthew Grieco · **Posted:** Fri Sep 23, 2005 11:23 am

I think the Yankees will win the East if they have at least a one-game lead going into the final Series at Fenway (Boston's current record is a reflection of home dominance (50-24) and road mediocrity (38-40)). We may very well see a single-game playoff here in the East.

I agree with you about the Angels.

As for the Central, I hope that the Indians and White Sox both keep winning (as long as the Yankees do too), and leave Boston out of the playoffs.

wordygurdy · **Posted:** Fri Sep 23, 2005 11:34 am

Yeah, I guess that's the way to root, Matthew, if you're a Yankee fan--for the Yanks to be 1-up on the Red Sox by next Friday. Because in that scenario, the Yanks could lose two out of three and then come back to New York for the playoff game.

I don't know about those White Sox, though. They seem to have become a little, shall we say, tight in the past couple of weeks. Doesn't look as if anyone can stop the Indians.

The Indians might be the most dangerous team in the American League postseason. (Though the Yanks would probably argue the Angels are, given how thoroughly the Angels dominate the Yanks.)

Matthew Grieco · **Posted:** Fri Sep 23, 2005 2:29 pm

Cleveland clearly has the best pitching of the AL teams likely to make the playoffs, and their hitting, although not the murderer's row of Boston or New York, is good enough to carry that pitching far. So it's going to be a great series if Cleveland faces either AL East team in October.

ADKbrown · **Posted:** Fri Sep 23, 2005 5:52 pm

What has happened to the White Sox? I haven't been following them closely.

ndugan1 · **Posted:** Fri Sep 23, 2005 10:01 pm

ADK, they've basically had a complete and utter meltdown, coupled with the complete opposite with the Indians. Over their last 10 games, the White Sox are 4-6 and the Indians are 8-2. This has been happening all August.

Being as I now live and work in the middle of Illinois, I have taken great pleasure in becoming and equal-opportunity hater when it comes to Chicago baseball. My newsroom is a microcosm of the town as far as baseball fans go: We have a contingent of Cardinals fans, and equally large contingent of Cubs fans, and, off to the side there, some White Sox fans, some of whom may or may not have diverted their attention to the South Side this season. I would love to see the greatest collapse in Major League Baseball history happen this month.

Having said that, I find myself a little interested in the action over there in the AL, mostly because it's all I can read about and see on ESPN now. I think those are some of the best baseball seasons, though -- when 162 games boil down to the final five or 10 to determine the postseason, and more than one city is on the edge of its seat. Makes September one of the best months of the year.

And wordygurdy, the Astros might have a little something to say about that. But they tried to close the door twice last year and failed. And with David "grand slam" Eckstein and Jimmy "walk off" Edmonds, along with some guy named Albert Pujols and a pitcher called Chris Carpenter, I'm not too worried.

wordygurdy · **Posted:** Sat Sep 24, 2005 7:46 am

ndugan1 wrote:

I would love to see the greatest collapse in Major League Baseball history happen this month.

With all due respect to the Pale Hose, the Yankees will hold the distinction of having achieved this ignominious title forevermore given their massive choke of all chokes last October.

ndugan1 · **Posted:** Sat Sep 24, 2005 6:46 pm

wordygurdy wrote:

With all due respect to the Pale Hose, the Yankees will hold the distinction of having achieved this ignominious title forevermore given their massive choke of all chokes last October.

You're right, wordygurdy. I should have clairified. I would love to see the biggest lead blown in Major League Baseball history happen this month.

(Although, I have to admit, I quite enjoyed watching last year's ALCS, though when it was all through, I was extremely nervous playing a team with that much momentum in the World Series. The outcome, of course, proved my suspicions correct.)

Wayne Countryman · **Posted:** Sat Sep 24, 2005 10:55 pm

Four Yankee fans from New Jersey said Boston fans not only were louder than the Orioles fans but seemed to outnumber them Saturday at Camden Yards.

That's nothing new: Among the loudest cheers of recent Oriole seasons have been "Yankees suck" and "Boston sucks" emanating from fans visiting from the north.

The only way Orioles fans would cheer that loud would be if Sammy Sosa and Rafael Palmiero came onto the field and announced their retirements tomorrow.

The Orioles lost four straight to the Yankees and now two to the Red Sox this week.

My wish for the Orioles (though I'm not a fan): hire Lou Piniella. That would be fun.

wordygurdy · **Posted:** Sun Sep 25, 2005 8:02 pm

Wayne, I was listening to the Orioles-Red Sox broadcasts this weekend, and if you hadn't known they were emanating from Camden Yards, you would have sworn they were emanating from Fenway. That's how loud (or numerous) the Red Sox fans were and how quiet (or absent) the Orioles fans were.

I don't see Lou going to Baltimore only because he wants a team that's built to win now. The Orioles need a lot of work--about three starters and a closer if they don't re-sign B.J. Ryan (who's a free agent), a right fielder and a first baseman would be nice. Also, Lou knows that working for Peter Angelos is a no-win proposition.

Of course, many teams need a lot of work, so Lou might not have too many choices if he wants to helm a sure winner in '06.

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