By Josh (9 Inning Know It All):
The trade deadline is done and now the finish line begins to loom even closer. In the Northwest League two teams are in and six others are looking to fill the final two playoff spots. For the Major League clubs the race for division leaders and for wild card spots are still tight enough where a lot of teams not only think they have a chance, they actually have a real chance.
Northwest League
With Yakima Bears claiming the east division first half title and the Everett AquaSox claiming the west division title, both teams know that they are going to be playing in the playoffs but neither team is going to take the rest of the season off. Both of these two teams can have a huge impact on the race for the final east and west division playoff spots.
In the west division the Eugene Emeralds, who were 3.5 games out of first, and the Vancouver Canadians, who were 5.5 games out of first, look to make the necessary improvements and adjustments to get them the second half playoff spot. Neither team stood out offensively in the first half. If one of these teams can get hot with the bats they would be the favorite to take the second playoff spot.
Salem-Keizer Volcanoes need to make a dramatic change to recover from a first half where they were 15 games out of first. Even though the second half starts every team’s record at 0-0, it is hard to just forget having a rough first half. The additions of veteran Cameron Lamb and 3rd round pick Mac Williamson, may be the needed leadership and boost to the offense to get the Volcanoes going.
In the east division, the Tri-City Dust Devils looked to be the favorite to the second half playoff spot, but struggling right out of the gate has opened the door for the Boise Hawks who is 6-2 to start the second half. For the east division only Yakima ended the first half with a winning record and if any of the other three teams want to make an impact in the second half and even into the playoffs they need to reach the .500 mark.
My predictions are that the Eugene Emeralds will be able to ride their great pitching into a playoff spot but the Vancouver Canadians will be pushing them up to the final day of the season for the final west divisions spot.
For the east division I am going to pick the team that is getting hot at the right time, Boise Hawks. Are they a lock in my mind? No. But in a short season all a team needs to do is get hot for a couple of weeks to build a lead and hold on to it for a playoff spot.
Major League Level
The current division leaders are:
AL West: Texas Rangers
AL Central: Chicago White Sox
AL East: New York Yankees
AL Wild Card: LA Angels and Oakland A’s
NL West: San Francisco Giants
NL Central: Cincinnati Reds
NL East: Washington Nationals
NL Wild Card: Pittsburgh Pirates and Atlanta Braves
For the most part I don’t think this list of teams will change too much but I do think that the Giants will end up falling behind the Los Angeles Dodgers and I really don’t think the Oakland A’s can hold on the rest of the season. The Pirates and Nationals are both teams that could falter down the stretch but I’m thinking this might be the year that starts a changing of the guard in the National League.
Also don’t forget to check out my Free Ticket Give Away http://9inningknowitall.com/2012/07/31/free-ticket-give-away-deadline-august-5th/