MLB season review: Part 1

 

October is the only month which features baseball, football, hockey, and basketball at a professional level. While the NFL, NHL and NBA are only getting started, the MLB season culminates with the World Series playoffs.

With that in mind, here’s brief look at the MLB year in review, beginning with the junior circuit – the American League – by division.

The Houston Astros have been a pleasant surprise around the baseball community, fielding a team of young talent that’s not really expected to contend for another couple of years. They sit two games behind first place and their interstate rival, the Rangers, who have continued to defy odds, as well, due to former Milwaukee Brewer teammates Prince Fielder and Yovani Gallardo. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (still with the most absurd title in the sport) are hanging around, but have largely underachieved, while Oakland and Seattle were never really in the race to begin with.

Kansas City leads the way in the AL Central and has avoided a “sophomore slump” by putting together its first back-to-back playoff berths in decades. The Minnesota Twins have come out of nowhere to be in the thick of the Wild Card race, while the pre-season Central favorite, the Detroit Tigers, have self-destructed – currently toiling in last place, with speculation over whether manager Brad Ausmus will return in 2016.

As for the East, it’s been a two-horse race between the New York Yankees and suddenly powerhouse Toronto Blue Jays. The Bronx Bombers were supposed to be too old to compete and nearing a roster rebuild by season’s end, yet their veterans have kept up with a more youthful league and are likely to claim a playoff spot. Toronto should stave off a New York surge and win the division, simply due to its impressive offense and newly acquired coveted lefty ace, David Price.

Moving on to the National League, the Los Angeles Dodgers have pulled away in the West behind Cy Young Award-caliber performances from Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke, while San Francisco continued its new tradition of disappearing in odd-numbered years (the Giants won it all in ’10, ’12, ’14; missed playoffs in ’11, ’13 and now ’15). The Arizona Diamondbacks put up a brief fight, but ultimately joined the San Diego Padres and Colorado Rockies as bottom feeders.

The NL Central features the top three teams in the game, as far as season record is concerned, in St. Louis, Pittsburgh and Chicago, respectively. The Cardinals have shocked critics by overcoming devastating injuries to ace pitcher Adam Wainwright and batting lineup mainstays Matt Holliday and Matt Adams, while their rotation stepped up in a big way to not just salvage a lost season, but to propel them to a probable 100 wins and a division crown. The Pirates lead the NL Wild Card race for the second straight year, with an upstart Cubs team right on their trail, just 2 games back while holding down the second WC spot, as of Wednesday. The Cincinnati Reds and the Brewers are in major rebuilding mode.

In the NL East, the New York Mets went out and traded for slugging outfielder Yoenis Cespedes to bolster their offense and the move has reaped rewards as they are 6.5 games ahead of Washington, through play on Wednesday. If the Nationals cannot pull off a miracle, they will miss the playoffs completely – spelling doom for Matt Williams, last year’s manager of the year. Many pundits had the Nats winning the World Series this year; to say they’ve been a disappointment would be an understatement. The Atlanta Braves were not expected to challenge the division. The circus in Miami has proven that the Marlins’ owner, Jeffrey Loria, just relishes attention.

The MLB season will draw to a close on Oct. 4, with the AL and NL Wild Card games Oct. 6 and 7, respectively. Predictions covering the initial playoff picture, with respect to who’s in and how, and the Wild Card games, will be published in Part 2, due in next week’s issue.