|
And just like that, we have races. All it took was a weekend; a weekend that saw the Cardinals sweep the Braves and the Rays take three from the Red Sox, vaulting themselves into their respective league's Wild Card picture and joining the Angels in a late pursuit of a playoff spot.Each team looked done a week ago, though the Cardinals had looked done for almost a month and the Rays didn't seem to football game online really be in it all year. But now Tampa Bay -- winner of five straight -- is just three games behind Boston in the American League Wild Card race, while St. Louis -- winner of five of its last six -- sits 4 1/2 behind Atlanta in the National League Wild Card and 6 1/2 behind Milwaukee in the NL Central with two weeks left in the season.Too little, too late?Let's have a look.RaysUpcoming schedule: football game online First things first. The Rays have the most important component in all of this on their side: games against the teams they're chasing. But a pretty brutal stretch awaits. After wrapping up a three-game series against the Orioles, the Rays enter the make-or-break portion of their schedule with four games against the rival Red Sox at Fenway Park, then four games against the first-place Yankees -- tw football game online o of them in a doubleheader -- in the Bronx. If they make it out of there OK, it gets a little easier, with six home games to finish up the season -- three against the Blue Jays and three against a Yankees team that may have nothing to play for by that point. Historical precedence: The Rays were 8 1/2 games back in the AL Wild Card race on Sept. 1, and before stepping into their season-changing we football game online ekend series against the Red Sox, they were seven back with 20 games left. No team in baseball history has ever come back from seven or more games out with 20 games or fewer games remaining and made it to the playoffs. And if you pin it down to just the 17-year-old Wild Card, no team has done it after being more than four games back with 140 completed. For some hope, though, the Rays can turn to t football game online he 2007 Rockies, who were 4 1/2 out and had three teams to pass on Sept. 15, then won 14 of their last 15 to make the playoffs -- and, eventually, the World Series. Why they can do it: Because they're the Rays. They have a knack for shocking us in these kinds of ways, and the relaxed style of manager Joe Maddon lends perfectly to these kinds of runs. They're a loose group, they understand they hav football game online e nothing to lose and -- if you're looking for a more tangible reason -- they have great starting pitching. The best ERA (starters) in the AL belongs to the Rays' staff, which boasts David Price, James Shields, Jeremy Hellickson, Jeff Niemann and Wade Davis (and maybe even Matt Moore). The Red Sox? Their staff is ninth in the AL in ERA, at 4.24, and it may be even worse than that right now. John L football game online ackey can't get right, Clay Buchholz won't be back until late in the season -- if then -- Josh Beckett and Erik Bedard are nursing minor injuries, and the likes of Tim Wakefield and Andrew Miller may be called on for big starts.Why they can't: Because the law of averages can be quite cruel to a club in the Rays' situation. We see it so many times, when a team makes a big late-season push before ru football game online nning out of gas just when it gets within striking distance. Don't forget how much panic there was when the Red Sox began the season 2-10, just before they went on a run that eventually catapulted them to the top of the standings. Boston has the better lineup, the better bullpen and still a decent cushion with very little time left.X factor: It's Moore, of course. Maddon said it all via his Twitte football game online r account on Monday: "I'd like to use Matt Moore kinda like we did with Price in '08. Let's see if history can repeat itself." Moore -- the budding prospect, power left-hander and recent callup -- can be the type of bullpen weapon that Price was when the Rays made it to the World Series three years ago. If he has that much of an impact, Tampa Bay has a shot.CardinalsUpcoming schedule: Unlike the R football game online ays, the Cardinals have the misfortune of not playing any head-to-head contests against the two teams they're chasing. But they have something else to their advantage: a much more favorable schedule. Four of the Cardinals' last five opponents are the Pirates, Mets, Cubs and Astros -- four teams that have a combined winning percentage of .430. Their big test will come via a four-game road series ag football game online ainst the Phillies that begins on Friday.Historical precedence: With 20 games left, the Cardinals stood 9 1/2 games out of the division lead and 7 1/2 back in the Wild Card race. No team in Major League history has ever come back from being down by seven or more games with 20 or fewer remaining to make the playoffs, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, but others have been close. The 1951 New Yor football game online k Giants were 6 1/2 back with 20 to go, and the '64 Cardinals, '95 Mariners and '07 Phillies were six back that deep into the season.Why they can do it: Because, quite simply, they're good enough. It was quite a shock to see the Cardinals fall so far back at the end of August, mainly due to the Brewers' emphatic run. But the Cards are relatively healthy, they have a solid rotation and bullpen, the football game online ir lineup can hit with anybody's and they have an entire team full of veterans who have been there before -- plenty more than the Brewers and Braves sport. Meanwhile, the Braves' two best starters -- Tommy Hanson and Jair Jurrjens -- are on the shelf, with Jurrjens in danger of missing the rest of the year with an injury to his right knee.Why they can't: Because either the Braves or Brewers would football game online have to flop pretty drastically against some mediocre competition for this to happen. Even if the Cardinals finish the season 15-0, the Brewers would basically have to lose half their remaining 14 games -- games against the inferior Rockies, Reds, Cubs, Marlins and Pirates -- for the Redbirds to even have a shot. As for the Wild Card, the Braves would have to drop at least five games the rest of t football game online he year while playing the Marlins, Mets and Nationals, then wrapping up against a Phillies team that will probably be on cruise control by then.X factor: Lance Berkman is definitely one. Berkman surged at the start of the season, slumped a bit while the Cardinals fell back in the standings -- hitting just .200 from Aug. 13 to Sept. 1 -- and seems to have regained his stroke. Berkman is hitting .39 football game online 4 with a .474 on-base percentage in his last nine games, and if he can keep providing that type of protection for Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday, the Cardinals are an incredibly tough out and have a chance.A slight one, sure.But at least we have some races. football game online
|