2008 Pennant Races

[BillD1984]

The Astros are on death watch for Wednesday, as their elimination number is down to 2.

 

[SabresRule]

As much as Bill gave props to Florida for staying in the playoff hunt for this long, I have to give props to Houston.

I had them going NOWHERE this year, even with Berkman's hot start.

They made it this far.

Maybe Carlos Lee was a good investment after all.

 

[BillD1984]

Updated Tragic (elimination) numbers:

AL East
TB### (Magic number: 2)
BOS- 2
NYY, TOR, BAL- Eliminated

AL Central
CHW (Magic Number: 5)
MIN- 5
CLE, DET, KC- Eliminated

AL West
LAA .........................DIVISION CHAMPS
TEX,OAK, SEA- Eliminated


AL Wildcard
BOS.........................CLINCHED PLAYOFF BERTH
NYY, MIN, TOR, CLE, DET, TEX, OAK, BALT, KC, SEA- Eliminated

###-TB- has clinched a PLAYOFF BERTH
************************************************** *************************************
NL East
PHI*** (Magic Number: 4)
NYM- 4
FLA, ATL, WSH- Eliminated

NL Central
CHC..............................DIVISION CHAMPS
MIL, HOU, STL, CIN, PIT- Eliminated

NL West
LAD (Magic Number: 3)
ARZ- 3
COL, SF, SD- Eliminated

NL Wildcard
NYM- (Magic Number: 5)
MIL- 5
HOU- 2
FLA, STL, ARZ, COL, SF, CIN, ATL, PIT, SD, WSH- Eliminated


***- PHI- Magic Number to clinch a playoff berth is 3.

 

[BillD1984]

As much as Bill gave props to Florida for staying in the playoff hunt for this long, I have to give props to Houston.

I had them going NOWHERE this year, even with Berkman's hot start.

They made it this far.

Maybe Carlos Lee was a good investment after all.

I totally agree. I had the Astros dead and buried back in June, so to get eliminated with only days left is quite an accomplishment.

 

[SabresRule]

I'm going to start something new on this thread.

A short time ago, I asked what was the cause of the Yankees playoff death.

Now, I'd like to do the same for other teams that stayed in the hunt for a majority of the year.

Florida and St. Louis- what was their cause of playoff death?

 

[BillD1984]

I'm going to start something new on this thread.

A short time ago, I asked what was the cause of the Yankees playoff death.

Now, I'd like to do the same for other teams that stayed in the hunt for a majority of the year.

Florida and St. Louis- what was their cause of playoff death?

Florida- lack of experience......BUT valiant effort! :up:up

St. Louis- the Cardinals have one of the best, if not the best player in the game. However IMO, they didn't have enough complementary players.

 

[Mets82]

Also, didn't the Cards have some guys on the injured list. I do know that the Cards Pitching was good because of Dave Duncan. The Cardinals took there chances on some guys and they did well, including and especially, Kyle Lohse.

 

[BillD1984]

Stat of the night:


The Red Sox became the first team in 35 years to clinch a playoff berth by defeating a 20 game winner.

 

[SabresRule]

In what can be only classified as a modern-day miracle,

the Mariners actually BEAT the Angels.

I guess they'll have to wait another day before they get to 100 losses.

BTW, whoever gets 100 losses may not pop the bubbly, but they can always pop this:

 

[Ramy]

It figures that the Reds get going when it's way too late.

 

[HD MM]

Congrat's Bill.

Solid win last night beating the Cy Young winner, Cliff Lee.

So much for my conspiracy theory. The Indians squandered too many opportunities to score runners on base last night. We had the bases loaded twice in the late innings, but equal credit is deserved to your relievers. Your bullpen will be one to be reckoned with during the playoffs....

 

[HD MM]

I heard on the radio this morning, that this is the FIRST time in Derek Jeter's career that he will not be in the playoffs! Amazing indeed....

 

[mccoyrj]

In what can be only classified as a modern-day miracle,

the Mariners actually BEAT the Angels.

I guess they'll have to wait another day before they get to 100 losses.

BTW, whoever gets 100 losses may not pop the bubbly, but they can always pop this:

Too bad the Pirates can't reach this infamous milestone this year, Heinz Vinegar would be most appropriate for them.

 

[BillD1984]

Congrat's Bill.

Solid win last night beating the Cy Young winner, Cliff Lee.

So much for my conspiracy theory. The Indians squandered too many opportunities to score runners on base last night. We had the bases loaded twice in the late innings, but equal credit is deserved to your relievers. Your bullpen will be one to be reckoned with during the playoffs....

HD,
it's ironic you bring up the bullpen, because about six weeks ago I was saying the Red Sox setup corps would be this team's downfall. However, since that time, Okajima looks more like the '07 Oki, Delcarmen- at times- looks dominant, and most impressively young stud, Justin Masterson has made the adjustment from starter to main setup guy effortlessly. So what looked like a weakness has become a strength, and the big question now is the health and availability of J.D. Drew and Mike Lowell for the playoffs.

 

[HD MM]

HD,
it's ironic you bring up the bullpen, because about six weeks ago I was saying the Red Sox setup corps would be this team's downfall. However, since that time, Okajima looks more like the '07 Oki, Delcarmen- at times- looks dominant, and most impressively young stud, Justin Masterson has made the adjustment from starter to main setup guy effortlessly. So what looked like a weakness has become a strength, and the big question now is the health and availability of J.D. Drew and Mike Lowell for the playoffs.

In the playoffs you can get by with 2 solid setup guys and 1 stud closer. You can relegate the end of the rotation starters to the bullpen if needed.

Oki is un-hittable at times and so is that river-dancing closer of yours.

 

[BillD1984]

One final note about the Yankees being shut out of the playoffs:


The Yankees 13 consecutive playoff appearances came up one short of the Atlanta Braves record 14 straight (1991-2005).

 

[BillD1984]

The Rays are ahead, 7-6 bottom of the 7th in Baltimore. A Rays win combined with a Red Sox loss tonight clinches the AL East for Tampa.

 

[BillD1984]

The Red Sox just went ahead of the Indians, 5-4 bottom of the 8th.

 

[BillD1984]

Red Sox win, the Rays will have to wait at least another night to clinch the AL East.

 

[BillD1984]

Bottom of the 8th at Shea......... Mets have the bases loaded, two out.................Cubs lead 6-5