League Recap

Since I missed last week's blog entry, I decided to switch things up for this week's blog. I'll just give a quick recap of what has happened in the last two weeks and then give a quick run-down of the playoff races as we come to the last full week of baseball in May.

After 7 weeks of baseball, the ADBL Division leaders are the Red Sox (6-0-1) in the AL East, the Tigers and Angels are tied (4-3) atop the AL West, the Phillies remain undefeated (7-0) out in the NL East, and the Dodgers and Giants find themselves deadlocked atop the NL West (3-4). Last week, the Angels knocked off the Yankees, the Reds beat the Giants, the Braves continued to roll defeating the D-Backs, Phillies knocked off the Rockies, the Mets fell to the Dodgers, and the Rays and Red Sox were victorious. This week, we saw the Reds fall to the Dodgers, the Yankees topped the Rangers, the Giants took care of business against the Mets, the Rockies snapped their skid against the Braves, the Phillies remained perfect against the D-Backs, the White Sox finally got their second win of the season against the Royals, the Angels continued their hot streak beating the Rays, and the Red Sox took care of business against the Tigers.

The playoff race in the AL and NL look like this:

1.) Boston Red Sox (5-0-1) [AL East Leader]
2.) Detroit Tigers (4-3) [AL West Leader]
3.) New York Yankees (4-2-1) [First Wild Card]
4.) Los Angeles Angels (4-3) [Second Wild Card/Tied for AL West Lead]
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4.) Tampa Bay Rays (4-3)
6.) Texas Rangers (2-5)
6.) Chicago White Sox (2-5)
8.) Kansas City Royals (1-6)

The Red Sox hold on to the best record in the American League, and have a comfortable lead over the rest of the League when it comes to the race for the best record. However, the rest of the pack remains very bunched together. At this point, the Red Sox and Yankees are the only teams in the AL that are multiple games over .500. The rest of the playoff picture is extremely unsettled. The Tigers and Angels are deadlocked atop the AL West at 4-3, but I have the Tigers ahead of them in the standings because the Tigers have beat them in their only meeting this year. The Rays also find themselves at 4-3 after 7 weeks and deadlocked with the Angels/Tigers for the final playoff spot. Outside the playoff picture right now are the Rangers, White Sox, and Royals who have a ton of ground to make up.

1.) Philadelphia Phillies (7-0) [NL East Leader]
2.) San Francisco Giants (3-4) [NL West]
3.) Atlanta Braves (5-2) [First NL Wild Card]
4.) Cincinnati Reds (4-3) [Second NL Wild Card]
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5.) Los Angeles Dodgers (3-4)
6.) Colorado Rockies (2-4-1)
6.) Arizona Diamondbacks (2-4-1)
8.) New York Mets (1-6)

The NL is home to the team with the best record, the Philadelphia Phillies, who remain undefeated through 7. The Dodgers and Giants are tied atop the NL West despite both teams being under .500. Rounding out the top 4 in the NL are a pair of NL East teams, the Braves and Reds. It's going to be tough for the teams outside the top 4 to catch these guys, because they're so far ahead of the pack at this point. You've got to think that the only way an NL West team is making the playoffs at this point is with a division title. Right now the NL West is looking a lot like the NFC West.

News and Notes from Around the League:

• Half the league is at or above .500 through 7 weeks, and 14 of the 16 teams have multiple wins.
• The NL West has 4 teams under .500, but any one of the 4 can take the division. 
• A couple of trades went down since the last blog post. One involved the Red Sox/Rangers and the other Tigers/Angels.
• The Rangers/Red Sox deal featured the teams swapping a pair of high profile Outfielders and some draft picks. The Rangers sent Nelson Cruz, Alexei Ogando, minor leaguer Nick Franklin, and pick 17 to the Red Sox for Shin-Soo Choo, Aramis Ramirez, and Pick 61. Definitely an interesting trade here. The Red Sox get a big bopper in Cruz and a guy with a live arm in Ogando. Plus they get a nice minor league SS in Franklin, along with the first pick in the 2nd Round. The Rangers get a good hitter in Choo and address their 3B need with A-Ram. They also pick up a draft pick. Both teams address needs, but I like the Red Sox side of this trade a little more. I really don't think there is that much of a difference between Cruz and Choo, especially with the injury history of Cruz, but what tips the deal in the Red Sox favor is the inclusion of the promising Franklin and a really high draft pick.
• The second trade had the Angels receiving a pair of MiLB players in LHP Mike Montgomery and 3B Jedd Gyorko, along with 31st and 46th picks in the draft, while the Angels get Gordon Beckham and the 59th and 75th picks in the draft. The Tigers get Beckham, who they can insert into the starting line-up to replace the injured Brian Roberts. Meanwhile, the Angels stockpile draft picks and get a couple of top level prospects in the process. Good trade for both teams.
• After one go-around of the East/West showdown, the East took the crown in both leagues. In both leagues, the East went 11-5 during the 4 week showdown.