As the final two weeks of the Major League Baseball season approach, a handful of teams from each circuit are buckling down in preparation for the ever-exciting pennant race portion of the 162-game grind. This is the home stretch of the Kentucky Derby, a game-winning field goal attempt and a last ditch three-point shot all rolled into one. In other words, these next two weeks can and will make or break the entire 2005 season for several clubs in the hunt.

So lean back like Fat Joe, because here comes my baseball stretch run preview, a division by division (and wild card) look at who have the best chances to sip on some Dom Perignon (or other assorted hip-hop drinks) in the next few weeks.

AL East: An interesting division. As it stands currently, Los Yankees are only 2.5 games behind first place Boston. In my humble, anti-northeast sports teams opinion, both of these teams are dreck. I think that, in the end, Boston will prevail with their first division title since 1995. The Red Sox will hold their lead due to the fact that their pitching isn’t quite as crappy as New York’s and that David Ortiz keeps proving that large quantities of saturated fat can be as effective as steroids for power hitting.

AL Central: Right now I am going to have to pick Chicago to hold its five-game lead over Cleveland. Now, these two teams face each other six more times in the next two weeks, so this result could change drastically depending on how the Indians hold up in the head-to-head games. Obviously, deep down I’m predicting the Indians to overtake the ChiSox, but I don’t think I can state that on record. When it comes to my hometown teams, I’m cockier than Kanye about his Grammy chances, so take my views with about a pound of salt.

AL West: The best divisional race in the AL, as usual, takes place in the Western division this year. As of now, the Angels are clinging to a one-game lead over the surprising Oakland A’s, who were actually in first place for a few games earlier this month. An exciting series that will most likely determine the fate of the AL West will be when these two teams face off September 26-29. I expect the Halos to hold on and win the division due to their far superior offense and solid pitching, although I do expect this division to be won by two games or less.

AL Wild Card: Definitely the most exciting playoff race in the AL. Currently, my Cleveland Indians hold a one-game lead over the Yankees and a 3.5-game lead over the Athletics. Damn, I wish the season ended today. The Indians do have the easiest schedule over the next two weeks and have been the hottest team in baseball since July 31, so, with their solid lineup and stellar pitching, I expect the Tribe will be the victors in the turbulent wildcard sweepstakes. And win the ALCS…and the World Series…

NL East: All I have to say about the NL East is that if you think any team other than the Braves is going to win this division, then you’re an ignorant fool.

NL Central: As with the NL East, this division is even more of a lock for our very own Cardinals. Their pitching is better this year than last, Albert Pujols is having another mind-blowing season and David Eckstein continues to be the most loveable imp in all the land. All I hope is that Wash U. students will do a better job this year of supporting the Cards in the playoffs. I’ll see you in hell if you cheer for some team from a town you’re not even from instead of your hometown Cardinals. Bums…

NL West: Man, this division is a piece of crap. If the rest of baseball were a Mercedes-Benz, the NL West would be a horse-drawn carriage. No, no, worse: a Yugo. Personally, unless you are from California (and even then you probably still don’t care), I don’t think anyone cares who wins this division. I’m going to pick San Diego to win this division, and I am really pulling for them to finish under .500. Plus, if the Padres advance, that will give the Dodgers’ Milton Bradley a nice long off-season to get counseling and run his board game empire.

NL Wild Card: This is the one race in the NL that is interesting. Florida and Philadelphia are tied, and Houston is only a half a game out of first. Even Washington is only three games out, although I doubt they have a chance as they are only one year removed from Montreal. That kind of stench lingers on, possibly for years. Right now, Houston is really missing Carlos Beltran. A superstar player like him would probably have won them a few more games and given them a comfortable lead in this race. In the words immortalized by Ugg from Salute your Shorts, “tough nuggets,” Houston. Furthermore, Philadelphia always finds a way to blow its chances at the end of the year, so that leaves Florida as the probable victors. Remember, they have a great young pitching staff, a talented lineup (by NL standards) and a crappy fan base that they win in spite of.

 Print This Post

This entry was posted on Friday, September 16th, 2005 at 12:00 pm and is filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.