Ladies and gentlemen, it looks like we have a race in the National League again. The Atlanta Braves have moved themselves into position to challenge the Colorado Rockies for the Wild Card in the NL. But first let’s take a look at the Minnesota Twins as they continue to bare down on the American League Central leading Detroit Tigers.

The Minnesota Twins continue to play great baseball. At this point they are a runaway train. And the Detroit Tigers are on the tracks looking like they’re about to get run over.

The Tigers did lose last night. They gave up just 2 hits but couldn’t score any runs. That ended a 4 game winning streak for the Tigers. So they aren’t playing bad ball right now. But if they want to be 2 games up (because that’s all they are right now) when they host Minnesota for a 4 game series this week then they better plan on winning the final 2 games of their series against the White Sox.

Because it doesn’t look like the Twins are going to lose very much the rest of this season. If they roll into Detroit just a game back or less then the Tigers may find themselves losing their 4 game series. Then they’ll be on the outside looking in. And the Twins will be on a great roll heading to New York. Look out Yankees!

Meanwhile, the Atlanta Braves are making things very interesting in the NL Wild Card race. They are now just 3 games in back of the Rockies. With the Braves set to finish their season with a 4 game series against the lowly Nationals and the Rockies having to play against the St. Louis Cardinals right now and then the Los Angeles Dodgers to close the season, the Rockies have to be sweating.

Look out, there is a decent chance that both the Twins and the Braves could make unbelievable runs right into the post season.

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Over in the National League the playoff teams are pretty much set. There really aren’t any really great races going on.

The closest race in the National League is the Wild Card race. But even that race isn’t that close.

The San Francisco Giants currently trail the Colorado Rockies by 4.5 games. Then the Florida Marlins are just 5 games back. In fact, the Rockies are only 5 games in back of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West.

It’s tough to shut the book on these races. Last year the New York Mets looked like they would easily win the NL East and then the Philadelphia Phillies caught them. But I don’t see anything like that happening again this year. I just don’t think the Marlins or the Giants have what it takes to catch the Rockies. Plus, I don’t see the Rockies choking late in the season.

So, we will have the Phillies winning the NL East. As the defending World Series Champions, they will be a force to be reckoned with. They certainly have everything they need to win the National League again this year.

Then in the NL Central the St. Louis Cardinals will win the division. In fact, they will probably win the division by the end of this week. Again, they look to be a tough out in the playoffs too. They have everything as well including a manager who really knows how to win in the playoffs.

In the NL West, the same can be said for the Dodgers. Joe Torre has won plenty of rings with the New York Yankees. But can he do it in Los Angeles? I don’t see why not.

And the Rockies – a team that’s been red-hot for a couple months now – will also be a tough team.

This all shapes up for one heck of a great playoff season. And we just have to wait another couple weeks for it to begin.

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Just a couple weeks left until the end of the season. And there is only one really great race in the Majors. (Again, I can see the AL Central turning into a race after this weekend, but they aren’t there yet.) That one really great race can be found in the National League and it’s the Wild Card race. The Colorado Rockies better look over their shoulders because the San Francisco Giants are charging hard.

Tonight the Giants and the Rockies will meet for the last time this season. The Giants have made the most of the series so far – they’ve taken the first 2 games. They’ve also cut the Rockies’ lead in the Wild Card race to just 2.5 games. A win tonight will put the Giants just a game a half in back with about 15 left to play. A loss tonight would create some breathing room for the Rockies but it wouldn’t end the race. Still, for the sake of baseball I think most fans (except the ones in Colorado) have to be rooting for the Giants.

It’s a shame that these teams don’t play again for the rest of the season. But maybe they’ll have to meet in a one game playoff in early October to see which team can advance to the playoffs. If the Giants win tonight then that will look more like a good possibility.

As for the all the divisional races in the National League, they are decided. The Phillies will win the NL East, the Cardinals will win the Central, and the Dodgers will win the West. All of these are practically locked in. The Phillies are up by 7 games, the Cards are up by 8 games, and the Dodgers have a 5.5 game lead. So, very soon all of these teams will clinch.

But the Wild Card race, well that just might come down to the final weekend of the season. And that might just be the only race that is even worth watching the next couple of weeks.

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Last blog post we went over the American League. Over in the National League just about all 3 divisions are decided. The only drama as the calendar begins to flip to September is the Wild Card race.

The NL East will go to the Philadelphia Phillies. The Atlanta Braves are 7 games back right now. That’s too much ground to make up. The Phillies will get into the playoffs easily and then they’ll be able to defend their World Series crown.

In the NL Central the St Louis Cardinals are running away with the division. This surprises me. I thought the Chicago Cubs would stick with the Cardinals the entire time. But the the Cubs have dropped back to 8 games back. This divisions is over too. The Cards will be an interesting team to watch in the postseason. They have all the pieces to win a championship yet they aren’t as good as the Dodgers, Phillies, or the Yankees. Well, with the way they’ve been playing lately, the Cardinals might be better than the Dodgers.

In the NL West the Los Angeles Dodgers are only 3.5 games ahead of the Rockies. This is turning in to a race. But I still like the Dodgers to win the division fairly easily. Joe Torre knows all about finishing strong.

The Wild Card race is wide open but the Rockies have a decent 3 game lead right now. The Giants are 3 games back, the Braves are 4 games back, and the Marlins are 5 games back. I’m starting to lean toward the Rockies here. But something tells me the Giants will have a great September and win this.

So, that would be the Phillies, the Cardinals, the Dodgers, and the Giants all in the playoffs. And I like the Phillies and the Cardinals to meet iin the NLCS. From there, who knows? But I’ll pick the Phillies to return to the Series to take on the Yankees.

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We just covered the AL standings and how things might wind-up. Now, let’s take a look the National League. We’ll start in the East and then go to the Central and finish up with the West.

Right now the NL East seems to be full of average teams. The only team over .500 is the Philadelphia Phillies and they’re only 5 games over .500. The Florida Marlins are in 2nd place and they’re playing .500 ball right now. Then the Mets are in 3rd and the Braves are in 4th and only 5 games back. The story of this division is really about the key injuries to just about every team. look for the Mets to get healthy and get on a roll and look for the Phillies to play better as well. I like the Mets to win this division. I know they’re playing horrible ball right now but so if the rest of the division. At least the Mets have a ton of injuries to blame it on.

Over in the NL Central 5 teams are within 4 games of first. The Brewers currently lead the division by a single game over the Cardinals. Then the Reds are 3 games back, the Cubs are 3.5 games back, and the Astros are 4 games back. This one is too close to call but I will go with the Cards to win the division.

Finally, the NL West is still led comfortably by the Los Angeles Dodgers. But the Giants and the Rockies are playing great ball too. In fact, it looks like 1 of these 2 teams will take the Wild Card. At least that’s the way it looks right now. But I don’t know that either of these teams can keep it up.

So, who do I like in for NL Wild Card? Well, let’s go with the Phillies. But I do think the Cubs, Brewers, and the Rockies all have a decent shot too.

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