|
One week from today, Wednesday will mean more than it ever has before in a baseball season.One week from today, the 162-game grind will conclude on a Wednesday for the first time, with the promise of a weekend start to the playoffs to follow.So much intrigue remains and so many questions are left to be answered by Final Wednesday.The Wild Card in each league? Still very much up for grabs. The top free football streaming seed in the American League and the No. 2 seed in the National? Ditto. Pretty much every individual statistical race for which Justin Verlander doesn't qualify? Yep, TBD.Yes, much remains to be determined.In terms of the postseason field, this Wednesday will have a lot to do with how next Wednesday will play out.The continuation of the Rays-Yankees series with a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium mig free football streaming ht help determine how important Thursday's finale and their concluding series at Tropicana Field will be -- with the Red Sox, struggling to maintain their slim Wild Card edge over the Rays, visiting the Yankees in between before finishing up in Baltimore.In the NL, the Braves will once again try to shake the Marlins as they cling tightly to their Wild Card lead, hoping next week's season-ending se free football streaming ries against the NL East-champion Phillies becomes a warmup for a second straight Division Series opportunity. The Cardinals and defending World Series-champion Giants continue to battle to try extend the race into next week, and into a 163rd game if necessary.In terms of individual races, one name stands out: Verlander. He could claim the pitching Triple Crown for the entire Major Leagues, a feat free football streaming that hasn't been accomplished since Johan Santana in 2006, and before him Dwight Gooden in 1985.With one start remaining, scheduled for Saturday, Verlander has the better part of a cushion for the AL ERA title, sitting at 2.29, and has the AL strikeouts title wrapped up with 244. But Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers is a tick ahead of him in ERA, with a 2.27 mark, and has 242 strikeouts, so Verland free football streaming er will need to finish in extraordinary fashion to be the overall leader in wins, ERA and strikeouts.Verlander is the master of the win column with 24 and has a possibility of 25, the highest total since Bob Welch with the A's in 1990. In another nod to the Next Year of the Pitcher, he has company in the 20-win club, with Arizona's Ian Kennedy joining him with No. 20 on Monday and Kershaw hitting free football streaming the big number on Tuesday. Still in play for 20: The Yankees' CC Sabathia is sitting at 19, and the Phillies' Roy Halladay and the Angels' Jared Weaver are at 18.In the NL, Kershaw is making his own run for a Triple Crown, in the NL. In fact, the 23-year-old lefty has a solid lead now in ERA (Johnny Cueto, with 2.31, Cliff Lee, with 2.38, follow) and leads Lee for tops in the NL in strikeouts by 1 free football streaming 9.The NL hitting Triple Crown remains in play as well, and that hasn't been accomplished since the Cardinals' Ducky Medwick in 1937. The Dodgers' Matt Kemp has been keeping everyone thinking about it since the All-Star break, and he keeps hitting his way into contention. At .321, he is 11 points off the lead in batting average (Ryan Braun, .332). With 34, he's tied for third in homers with Prince free football streaming Fielder and Mike Stanton, behind Albert Pujols (36) and Dan Uggla (35). With 113, he's tied with Ryan Howard as the league's leader in RBIs.That we're even considering it at this late stage of the season is a testament to Kemp's stellar season -- one that makes him a strong Most Valuable Player candidate. With Kershaw taking the role as the favorite for the NL's Cy Young Award, can a team that did free football streaming n't really contend chalk up the league's MVP and Cy Young? It's one of many lingering questions.In the season's final week, will Rookie of the Year candidate Craig Kimbrel nail down the saves the Braves need to lock up the NL Wild Card? Will AL MVP candidate Adrian Gonzalez help push the Red Sox back into a groove and keep them at the top in the AL Wild Card?Finally, all those performances will be free football streaming under consideration when voters postmark their awards ballots next Wednesday.A few things we know already, a week away from the last day of the season. But by the time Final Wednesday rolls around, it looks like there still could quite a bit we don't know.One thing that's clear: It will be a Wednesday like no other before it, which makes this one pretty special, too. free football streaming
|