Which teams from the A.L. East will make the playoffs? (1 Viewer)

[Raider Nation]

Standing as of this post:

NEW YORK .... 43-26

TAMPA BAY .. 42-27

BOSTON ........ 43-28

TORONTO ..... 38-32

This is tough. I'm gonna go Yanks and Rays.

 

[guru_007]

Going to go Boston/TB

TB has the best road record in baseball and has played 3 more games on the road than at home, so that will suit them well the second half of the year.

And while Boston has played 41 at home vs. only 30 on the road, they have played much better of late after a pretty poor start to the season. Not to mention the fact that they have suffered some significant injuries, and should get back a few key components for the second half (Ellsbury & Beckett have missed significant time....as has Cameron).

NYY are tough to bet against, but I just don't trust that starting pitching outside of Sabathia. Hughes is having a tremendous first half to the season, we'll see if he can keep it up. Yankees have also played quite a bit more at home than on the road, so I'm going to say a few injuries will hit them and their pitching sputters a bit down the stretch and they don't keep up.

 

[David Yudkin]

Going to go Boston/TBTB has the best road record in baseball and has played 3 more games on the road than at home, so that will suit them well the second half of the year.And while Boston has played 41 at home vs. only 30 on the road, they have played much better of late after a pretty poor start to the season. Not to mention the fact that they have suffered some significant injuries, and should get back a few key components for the second half (Ellsbury & Beckett have missed significant time....as has Cameron).NYY are tough to bet against, but I just don't trust that starting pitching outside of Sabathia. Hughes is having a tremendous first half to the season, we'll see if he can keep it up. Yankees have also played quite a bit more at home than on the road, so I'm going to say a few injuries will hit them and their pitching sputters a bit down the stretch and they don't keep up.

TB started the season 13-1 on the road and have been 11-11 since. I suspect they will play close to .500 ball on the road, but they have already had their hot streak on the road this year. They certainly have the talent to mount another road winning streak (especially against poor teams), but I don't see another blistering road record the rest of the way.

 

[gump]

Interesting to me also is that all 3 of these teams have closed down the stretch in the past, with a big chunk of their existing rosters...the Sox in '07, Rays in '08, and Yanks in '09.

So you can't say any haven't 'been there'.

Gonna be wild. I picked NY and TB.

 

[gump]

Going to go Boston/TBTB has the best road record in baseball and has played 3 more games on the road than at home, so that will suit them well the second half of the year.And while Boston has played 41 at home vs. only 30 on the road, they have played much better of late after a pretty poor start to the season. Not to mention the fact that they have suffered some significant injuries, and should get back a few key components for the second half (Ellsbury & Beckett have missed significant time....as has Cameron).NYY are tough to bet against, but I just don't trust that starting pitching outside of Sabathia. Hughes is having a tremendous first half to the season, we'll see if he can keep it up. Yankees have also played quite a bit more at home than on the road, so I'm going to say a few injuries will hit them and their pitching sputters a bit down the stretch and they don't keep up.

TB started the season 13-1 on the road and have been 11-11 since. I suspect they will play close to .500 ball on the road, but they have already had their hot streak on the road this year. They certainly have the talent to mount another road winning streak (especially against poor teams), but I don't see another blistering road record the rest of the way.

I would expect the Rays 18-15 home record to improve also.

 

[gump]

bump

 

[David Yudkin]

Boston clearly looks like the odd team out at this point. Season killing injuries to Ellsbury, Cameron, Pedroia, Youk, Hermida, and Lowrie didn't help, nor did DL stints to V-Mart, Varitek, Lowell, Beckett, Dice-K, Wakefield, and Buchholz. Too many injuries to make a run.

 

[Raider Nation]

Boston clearly looks like the odd team out at this point. Season killing injuries to Ellsbury, Cameron, Pedroia, Youk, Hermida, and Lowrie didn't help, nor did DL stints to V-Mart, Varitek, Lowell, Beckett, Dice-K, Wakefield, and Buchholz. Too many injuries to make a run.

Gotta tip your cap to them though. They never stop playing hard. Tito is a great manager.

 

[gump]

Good weekend in Tampa and the Sox are right back in it.

 

[David Yudkin]

Good weekend in Tampa and the Sox are right back in it.

The Sox need to go 24-12 and have either the Yanks or Rays go 19-18 to finish tied for the wild card. I just don't see it . . .

 

[Premier]

Good weekend in Tampa and the Sox are right back in it.

If things go into this weekend as they are now, they'd have to sweep just to get 2.5 back, and there would be 30 left.It's possible, of course, but one thing the Rays and Yanks definitely have is SP. That alone will win them games they should lose.

 

[gump]

Good weekend in Tampa and the Sox are right back in it.

If things go into this weekend as they are now, they'd have to sweep just to get 2.5 back, and there would be 30 left.It's possible, of course, but one thing the Rays and Yanks definitely have is SP. That alone will win them games they should lose.

Price-Garza-Shields would be tough to sweep in the Trop.

 

[Premier]

Good weekend in Tampa and the Sox are right back in it.

If things go into this weekend as they are now, they'd have to sweep just to get 2.5 back, and there would be 30 left.It's possible, of course, but one thing the Rays and Yanks definitely have is SP. That alone will win them games they should lose.

Price-Garza-Shields would be tough to sweep in the Trop.

Yea...I'm not expecting that, but it did happen once this year.I think the Rays are sitting pretty. Excited for the last month.

 

[guru_007]

Good weekend in Tampa and the Sox are right back in it.

The Sox need to go 24-12 and have either the Yanks or Rays go 19-18 to finish tied for the wild card. I just don't see it . . .

Yeah, I'm a huge Sox fan, but they are 6 back in the loss column to both teams, and missing 4/9 of their starting lineup. It would take a Herculean effort for this team to leap past either team....or a historic collapse