The New York Yankees are 134 games into the season and are six games behind the Boston Red Sox for a wild card spot. The Minnesota Twins are actually in second place, currently sitting three games ahead of the Yankees. This would be the first time in 13 years that the Bronx Bombers won't be on the diamond in the postseason, a fact that is a punch in the gut to Yankees fans that have grown accustomed to superstars and winning, but should put a smile on the face of most of the rest of baseball fandom.
There is also the possibility that Minnesota might overtake Boston for the wildcard spot, leaving the Red Sox out as well. The MLB playoff bracket hasn't been without the Yankees or Red Sox, which would be the first time since 1993. Boston is 21-16 since the all star break, losing Manny Ramirez in trade and J.D. Drew to injury along the way, though Jason Bay has done a nice job replacing Ramirez.
Minnesota is 22-17 since the break but have recently gotten ace Francisco Liriano back from the disabled list and he is undefeated with a .90 era in his five starts since returning.
The real story here is the Tampa Bay Rays, though. This is a team that started out hot and was expected to fade down the stretch. But, they just keep winning, thanks in large part to the great young arms of Andy Sonnanstine, Scott Kazmir, James Shields, Matt Garza and Edwin Jackson.
They continue throwing well, and with Carlos Pena doing his usual thing of tearing the cover off the ball in the second half of the season, there's no reason to think the Rays won't hold on and win the American League East. Their current lead is 4 1/2 games over the Red Sox.
The rest of the American League side of the MLB playoff bracket has the Angels leading in the West by 16 games over the Rangers and the White Sox leading the Twins by a single game.
The National League side of the MLB playoff bracket shapes up like this:
The Mets lead the Phillies by 2 games in the East, the Cubs are 6 1/2 games up on the Brewers in the Central, and The Diamondbacks are ahead of the Dodgers by 3 1/2 games. In the wild card standings, the Brewers lead the Cardinals by 4 1/2 and the Phillies by 5 1/2 games.
It should be a fantastic September once again for Major League Baseball, with a number of pennant races still close and the possibility of the three most dominant teams over the last decade - the Yankees, Red Sox, and Braves - staying home in October. Baseball seems to do the least of the four major American sports to prevent parody, thanks to allowing teams to exceed the salary cap claiming profit sharing will make up the difference, but this year it may have to succumb any way.
Robert Grazian is an accomplished niche website developer and author.
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