Well, so much for the AL East.
A week ago at this time, Red Sox Nation was buzzing. The team was coming off impressive series wins against Tampa Bay and Los Angeles, and with a four-game set against the Royals on the horizon, it looked like they might be able to narrow the Yankees' five-game division lead in time to make the weekend's series interesting.
Ha.
The Red Sox struggled mightily against the Royals — one of the worst teams in the American League — and then looked like the late-July Red Sox against the Yankees, suffering a sweep that culminated in watching New York celebrate its first AL East title since 2006. Fun times for all.
In light of these events, the Red Sox have a few things to consider as the playoffs loom (assuming they don't pull a Mets).
One: As Tim McCarver so eloquently pointed out during Saturday's loss, the Red Sox either need to find a way to win at Yankee Stadium (they're 0-6 there since the All-Star break) or they need to hope the Tigers/Twins can trump New York in the first round of the playoffs.
Two: Should they be unfortunate enough to meet New York in the ALCS, the Red Sox need to hope and pray that the postseason CC Sabathia shows up, not the regular season one. Boston has looked horrendous against Sabathia in the second half this year. In three starts against Boston in that span, the New York ace's line looks like this:
20 2/3 innings, 11 hits, four earned runs, 25 strikeouts
On second thought, the Sox could just focus on getting into the postseason.
Playoff Picture
AL East: New York Yankees (101-56)
AL Central: Detroit Tigers (83-72)
AL West: Los Angeles Angels (92-64)
AL Wild Card: Boston Red Sox (91-65)
Breakdown: With all the other races all but wrapped up, the AL Central is the only division where fun things are happening this week. And "fun" means a four-game set between the two teams vying for a playoff spot. The Twins are looking at a two-game deficit right now; if they can win this week's series, they will take the lead in the Central and have a very good shot at stealing a playoff berth right out from under Detroit.
NL East: Philadelphia Phillies (90-66)
NL Central: St. Louis Cardinals (90-66)
NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers (93-64)
NL Wild Card: Colorado Rockies (88-68)
Breakdown: The Giants and the Marlins have all but fallen out of the wild-card race — and the Braves have taken their place. Right now, Atlanta is two games behind, and if the Braves can keep it close through a three-game set with the Marlins, they have the opportunity to beat up on the Nationals this weekend and steal a ticket to October.
MVP
American League: Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins
Considering the fact that his team pulled off an improbable comeback to hang in the Central race into the last week of the season, it's going to be hard to count out Mauer, regardless of whether he ends up in the playoffs. The Twins went 5-1 against the White Sox and the Royals this week, and Mauer hit .318 with four RBIs. He's currently hitting an MLB-best .371 with 28 homers and 92 RBIs.
National League: Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals
The Cards had a big week, clinching the NL Central and punching their ticket to October. Pujols, hitting .328 with 47 homers and 132 RBIs, propelled his team to the milestone, hitting .333 with four RBIs in six games against Houston and Colorado.
Cy Young
American League: Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners
Right now, it's still pretty much a three-game race between Hernandez, Zack Greinke and CC Sabathia, but depending which numbers you want to favor, Hernandez may be your guy. While Greinke is the ERA leader at 2.06, Hernandez is 17-5 with a 2.49 ERA in 224 1/3 innings. And according to Sabathia, Hernandez deserves the award for bringing his best stuff against the best lineups; he threw a complete-game shutout against New York on Sept. 18. On Thursday, he lasted eight innings against Toronto and allowed three earned runs on seven hits with 11 strikeouts, his season-high.
National League: Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants
He no longer leads the majors in strikeouts — that honor has been usurped by Justin Verlander — but he's still in second place with 254, and his 2.47 ERA still ranks third among all major league starters. This week, after allowing a disappointing five runs in four innings against the Dodgers, he rebounded with a seven-inning effort against Chicago, allowing two runs and striking out seven.
Rookie of the Year
American League: Ricky Romero, Toronto Blue Jays
If you're looking for a rookie who has been consistently solid in 2009, Romero is it. The 24-year-old is 12-9 with a 4.28 ERA in as challenging a division there is. This week, he took a loss at Tampa Bay, allowing four runs on seven hits in six innings; in a no-decision against Seattle, he allowed three runs in 6 1/3 innings.
National League: Tommy Hanson, Atlanta Braves
The 23-year-old flamethrower is 11-4 with a 2.98 ERA in 20 starts. He was up and down this week, taking the loss against Philadelphia after allowing four runs in five innings, but he rebounded with a strong seven-inning effort against the Nationals, allowing four runs on four hits. He notched seven strikeouts in each outing.
Weekly Wonders
American League: Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees
A-Rod, who is hitting a healthy .285 with 28 homers and 93 RBIs despite missing the first month of the season, had a big week against the AL's top teams, Los Angeles and Boston. The Yankees went 5-1 and he hit .350 with three homers and eight RBIs.
National League: Ryan Howard, Philadelphia Phillies
The Phils went 3-4 in a rough week, but Ryan Howard's week was anything but rough: He hit .375 and slugged .656 in seven games against Florida and Milwaukee with two homers and a whopping 14 RBIs.
