Setting up September: American League
As September approaches, baseball heats up. I thought it would be a good time to check in on the playoff races by looking at the standings and examining which of the battling teams play each other, and also looking at which of these teams will be playing the bottom-five teams in their league (since many of those sides will be manned largely by prospects and scuffling vets).
AL West: The Angels have a five game lead over Seattle, and 15 games remaining against the bottom five. They also have a four-game series at home against the Mariners in the second-to-last weekend of the season. Seattle has a tough road ahead with only seven games remaining against the worst teams in the league. They also have only two days off for the rest of the season as they are making up games that were rained/snowed out in April. The Angels are looking live.
AL Central: Cleveland has a 4.5 game lead over Detroit and the two teams are headed in opposite directions. The Tribe has 11 games against the weak teams, while Detroit has 14. Also of interest, the Indians have 17 away games remaining on their schedule, while the Tigers have 16 at home. Detroit hasn't been much better at home than on the road this season, but Cleveland does slip a bit on the road. So while Cleveland is certainly surging right now, this could end up a lot closer than it currently looks.
AL East: The Red Sox are six games up on the Yankees with four more games against them, three of those in Boston. Boston has 13 games remaining against bottom-five teams, while New York has 15. The advantage is clearly to Boston here, with a six-game lead, comparable remaining schedules, and the upcoming home series against their rivals.
AL Wild Card: The Mariners and Yankees are tied for the AL Wild Card. They play a three-game series next week in New York. Seattle has three games in hand, but a tougher schedule. This is even now, but New York has the advantage on paper.
