MLB: Day Ninety-Nine

Posted on | July 11, 2007 | No Comments

At the end of the day on Sunday, as all the teams head into the All Star Break, there is a pretty good race going in every division except the American League East where the Boston Red Sox own a ten game lead. Although that division even became a little more interesting after the Sox were swept by the Tigers over the weekend.

Speaking of the Detroit Tigers, they are probably playing the best baseball right now, along with the Seattle Mariners. It’s pretty cool that these two teams will play each other in Seattle right after the All Star Break.

But for now, the Tigers have to feel good about what they’ve done in sweeping the Red Sox. The Tigers now have the second best record in baseball just behind the Red Sox. But who can argue that the Red Sox are better than the Tigers when they just got hammered in three games?

Meanwhile, over the last month or so there isn’t a team that’s been playing better than the Seattle Mariners. They even withstood an unexpected retirement by their manager. The fact is that the Mariners are solid all the way around – they can hit, they have a good starting rotation and they have a solid bullpen – means they should be around in October.

So the Mariners go into the All Star Break just three and half games behind the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. (Or is it the Anaheim Angels of Los Angeles? Ridiculous.) This has the making of a great race.

So too does the race in the American League Central between the Tigers and the Cleveland Indians. But if the Tigers can get their bullpen straightened out right now, and when they get back two of their best relievers – Rodney and Zumaya – the Tigers might just run away with it.

Meanwhile, over in the National League, it looks like all three divisions will be competitive. The NL East is tight with both the New York Mets and the Atlanta Braves not wanting to win enough to pull away in the lead. The NL Central has gotten a lot closer thanks to the Milwaukee Brewers frequent stumbles. And the NL West might be the best overall race in baseball. There are four teams within five and half games of the lead. That divisional race could be just absolutely crazy as the summer flies by and the fall begins.

Related posts:

1. MLB: Day Ninety-Seven
2. MLB: Day Ninety-Five
3. MLB: Day Ninety
4. MLB: Day Ninety-Four
5. MLB: Day One Hundred and Fifty-Nine

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