Hot Or Not...

As the calendar officially recognizes Fall this afternoon (5:18 PM here on the East Coast), it looks like we have a few more playoff/division races than we expected two weeks ago.

The Boston Red Sox have pulled within four games in the loss column of the Yankees. New York is currently playing in Anaheim against the Angels. And, as you know, that place has been anything but heavenly for the Bombers over the past few years. Last night, they lost to 5-2, wasting a decent start from Andy Pettitte (6 IP, 3 ER).

Luckily for them, the Red Sox blew two big leads in Kansas City, eventually losing to the Royals 12-9. Boston has been on a tear of late, winning ten out of its last twelve games to cut into the Yankees lead in the AL East. And Red Sox Nation has a reason to be pretty excited too. Though they lost to the Royals last night, they do have two more games against the hapless AL Central squad while New York has to play two more games against the Angels. Then, there is the big three game set between the two in the Bronx this weekend. Conceivably, Boston could be two games back in the loss column by the time the first pitch is thrown on Friday night.

While Boston is winning ten out of twelve, New York has gone five and seven. That opens the door ever so slightly...

Can the Yankees win at least one game in Anaheim? Can Boston continue to win at the pace they set over the past two weeks? Are we watching another collapse like the Mets the past two seasons?

Anaheim really has been a "House of Horrors" for New York ever since Mike Scioscia took over as manager of the Angels. Chad Gaudin is on the hill tonight for the Yanks, not really a major boost of confidence there. Gaudin has proven to have a more effective slider since coming over from San Diego, but is he a stopper? You have to hope the Bronx Bombers show up tonight and provide Gaudin with plenty of support. A big crooked number on the scoreboard could go along way in quieting any unrest.

Boston is playing great baseball, that clearly cannot be denied. They have gotten some great pitching of late from their rotation and their bullpen. There is no reason to think they are going to slow down at any point. I would love to say that no team can win like they are over a longer period of time, but the Colorado Rockies of years past have proven that to be wrong a couple of times now.

I don't think the Yankees are going to lose the AL East. It might end up being a little closer than they would have liked, but I think they'll have enough to get by. Being up four games in the loss column gives them plenty of wriggle room and you have to assume CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte will step up over the final two weeks. Boston has done a great job of separating themselves from the Wild Card pack, so watch out ALCS, we could have yet another Beantown v. Big Apple matchup.

The AL Central is an even closer race with Minnesota closing the gap over this past weekend, taking two of three from the Tigers in the Metrodome. Detroit has gone six and nine over their last 15 games, opening the door for the Twins to step right back into the pennant hunt. Jim Leyland's squad narrowly avoided disaster with a Sunday win. Over that same period of time, the Twins have gone ten and five. The math here isn't at all hard to do. But does Minnesota have the pitchers in the starting rotation to get them past the lead horse as they turn for home? Or will the Tigers right this problem and crawl past Ron Gardenhire's bunch into an open round series with the Yankees?

You have to like the Tigers rotation right now over the Twins. Justin Verlander and Edwin Jackson have proven they can step up when needed. And though there is little factual basis to it, I don't trust any rotation that is even slightly dependant on Carl Pavano. I think the Tigers will hold on and face New York in round one. I think we've seen this setup somewhere before. At least Kenny Rogers isn't pitching for Detroit anymore.

And the last race of interest is the National League Wild Card, which has essentially boiled down to a race for second place in the NL West. San Francisco continues to chase the Rockies for the fourth and final spot in the playoff shootout in the NL. San Francisco simply does not have enough offense to pull them through to the playoffs. And you have to take notice when Tim Lincecum, in a big game, can't give his team a chance to win. San Fran has had a great run and can really build on their pitching staff next year. But Colorado is going to hold on to the Wild Card spot and may pose a real danger in the first round.

Just my two cents (or 15 cents as it were!). What are your thoughts about the three most contentious playoff races?