Standings via MLB.com
Holy first place tie in the AL East, Batman! That’s right… it’s coming down to the wire, we’re on the home stretch and already into October, but two teams with impressive records are holding ground in first place.
Guess who has two thumbs, just clinched a post-season berth, and is sitting in first place in the AL East right now? Hint: you have a two-in-five chance of getting it right.
What did you do this weekend? The Orioles swept the Red Sox, bringing them back into first place and with the potential to win the pennant, and a playoff berth secured with the Angels loss to Texas Sunday night. This is Baltimore’s first playoff berth since 1997. For those of you who can’t do math, well, that was a long time ago, especially if you’re a dog.
The fate of the Orioles and the Tampa Bay Rays is very much intertwined at this point. The two teams begin a three-game series Monday night to round out their season. The Rays need to win all three games in order to secure one of the league’s two wild card spots. Currently, the Rays’ elimination number is set at 1, and the team trails Oakland for the wild card.
The Blue Jays might avoid finishing in last place, but somehow, someway, their roster continues to take big hits. And I don’t mean in a good way. I mean in the dudes-are-still-getting-injured-let’s-just-hibernate-until-spring way. The Jays are looking at a record of 70-89 right now, and their 90th loss would be the first time the club has dropped as many since 2004.
There’s really no way around it any longer, it’s a losing season in Boston. The Sox were swept by the O’s over the weekend, which led them down the garden path to last place in the AL East. Red Sox fans have the opportunity to cheer on their team for the final games of the season this week against the other-team-that’s-tied-for-first-place-and-just-clinched-playoffs Yankees, in hopes of crushing rival New York’s playoff dreams. And if that isn’t something to look forward to and the end of a desolate season, well, I don’t know what is.
