MLB: The Roller Coaster Ride Continues

There’s a reason the baseball season is 162 games long. I think I wrote about this before. Yeah some people can’t stand the fact that it’s so long. But it has to be. Just look at all the ups and downs of all the teams. Just look at the roller coaster. It has to be 162 games to allow for the best teams – the most consistent teams and the toughest teams – to prove it.

Just look at the New York Yankees. Just when it looked like they would tank all season they suddenly ripped off a few good weeks and took over 1st place. But then just when it looked like they would stay in first for the rest of the season they slumped and dropped away from the Boston Red Sox. Then when it looked like they would maybe drop to third place now they’re playing great ball again.

Of course the Boston Red Sox are on a similar path. They’ve had their ups and downs too. But they’ve managed to be better overall and so they’re still in first place. But still, how do you blow that huge lead they had against the Baltimore Orioles last night? How do you do that to John Smoltz? Unbelievable.

But the Red Sox and the Yankees have plenty of company throughout baseball. The Detroit Tigers, the Philadelphia Phillies, the St. Louis Cardinals, and many other teams have looked like the best team in baseball and then suddenly turned into one of the worst teams in baseball.

What does all this mean? Well, for one thing it means that we’re probably in for a wild summer. It also means we probably won’t know very much about how the post season will look until at least September. And it might be more like October.

So let the roller coaster ride continue.