Steven Urena
By Steven Urena
Things are heating up in the MLB. There’s about 50 games remaining for most clubs. The men and the boys were separated a long time ago. Now it’s time to see who can make that final push. The one game playoff is a killer. The best team does not always win and when they go into the first round they usually use one or maybe two of their horses. Most teams are still in the hunt but at this point, I don’t see a whole lot changing. Baseball will be fun down the stretch.
NL West
If the Giants were gonna bust, it would have happened already. It looks like they’re the real deal. At least for this season. Currently, the Giants are four games ahead of the Dodgers. That’s a pretty good lead. Kris Bryant seems to have added a spark to an offense that already led the league in home runs. Starting pitching has been great. What might get the Giants is their tough schedule down the road. If they happen to catch a cold streak and the Dodgers heat up, it might get interesting.
The weight of the world remains on the shoulders of the Dodgers. If they happen to pull it off and win the west, it’s because they earned it. Not because the Giants crumbled. The Dodgers have been inconsistent all season. If the Boys in Blue plan on catching the Giants, they’ll need a great run. They’ll have to win 2 out of 3 for about a month. It may not happen with streaky hitting, a closer who can’t close and injuries. Disaster for the Dodgers is spelled I-N-J-U-R-Y. Let’s see if they can overcome that and right the ship.
What happened to Slam Diego? Well, numerous things. The biggest problem is their 1-2 punch. If they did not have a great bullpen they would have dropped out of this race a long time ago. Blake Snell and Yu Darvish have ERA’s of 5.24 and 6.34. I would not count them out quite yet though. They still have a talented group of guys with playoff experience. A few good starts in the playoffs can make up for a bad season. The NL West is almost certainly out of the question but the wild card is still theirs to lose.
NL Wildcard
If the playoffs started today, the Dodgers would square off against the Padres. A heavyweight fight. The problem for the Padres is they are fluttering. The Red are red hot and catching up quickly. The Dodgers, with Walker Buehler or Max Scherzer are easy favorites but baseball is a different beast than football or basketball. Any given game, crazy things can happen.
It’s unthinkable that the Dodgers may wind up in a one game elimination. Not a soul in Los Angeles thought they would not win the West and make a deep run in the playoffs. If they want to repeat, they need to fix whatever is wrong with them in close games and extra inning games.
Even more crazy is the thought that the Padres may not get in the dance at all. I would have put serious money at the beginning of the season that they would, at the very least, win the NL Wildcard and play the Dodgers in the next round. The Reds would love to slide into the second wild card game.
NL East
One second the Mets seemed to be cruising, the next, Jacob deGrom got hurt and the Phillies jumped ahead in the standings. The Braves are lingering around but I don’t think they have what it takes to keep up with the Mets or Phillies. It looks as though the NL Central and the NL East are going to luck out. The NL West has three of the best teams in baseball and only one will get to advance to the NLCS.
The Phillies have been riding the Bryce Harper express. He’s been crushing baseballs since the All-Star break. Aaron Nola is the real deal but the rest of the staff is not. I can’t see them getting out of the NLDS.
The Mets quickly learned to live and die with deGrom. Unfortunately, without their big gun they are not getting in the playoffs. The offense has not helped. They are at the bottom of runs per game and not showing any signs of improvement. With deGrom, I give the Mets a 50/50 shot. Without him, the Phils win the division.
American League
The Astros are good. They’re out for blood. I hate to say it but a hot Astros team is going to be tough to beat. Even without Yuli Gurriel and Alex Bregman they are still managing to pull off wins. I like the A’s but they’re still a few years away from being a contender.
Good pitching always beats good hitting. The White Sox have good pitching in spades. If I had to pick a team in the AL right now, it would be the ChiSox. They still have trouble with the bat but they have great starting pitching and two lights out closers.
The Rays jumped out to a four game lead over the Red Sox. Unlike the Giants, the Sox have hit their slump. I don’t see them coming out of it. Their starting pitchers have been getting lit like Christmas trees. The Rays are a scrappy bunch but losing Tyler Glasnow is a big blow. They find ways to get it done but I don’t see them getting past the ChiSox. The Yankees are still in it mathematically but mentally they seem out of it.
Million Dollar Injuries
Hurtnando Ouchis Jr. is yet again on the IL. It looks like the minor shoulder injury is something he’s been dealing with since he first got hurt early in the season. I’m not sure if I agree with him being moved to the outfield. I get how the move can make sense for him and the Padres but he’s just as likely to get hurt in the outfield as he is in the infield. Either way, without Hurtnando in the lineup, the Padres are toast. Part of being the best player in the league is staying healthy. San Diego better hope this is a freak year and not something that they will have to deal with year in and year out.
Speaking of nagging injuries, Mookie Betts has been struggling with a bad hip. Remember last year when Mookie only swung and missed at two balls in the strike zone? That’s one of the craziest and most impressive stats I’ve heard since Tony Gwynn. This season Mookie has had his share of troubles at the plate and it must be due to his injuries. He’s been hot as of late but the injury bug keeps biting him in the rear end (or hip). He asked for playing time at 2B to help protect the hip. But like with Hurtnando, I don’t see a position switch helping the nagging injuries. Mookie might be heading to the IL soon as well.
Silving Lining in the Silver Medal
Japan had the best their country had to offer on the field. The US had has-beens and never-weres on the field. I was not waking up at 3 am to tune in. Had the game been at a reasonable hour, I would have loved to watch. I was a little upset that we did not win the gold but baseball in the Olympics just has not been our thing. I can live with the silver. Especially since I got over not winning the gold after less than a minute. I’ll take the World Baseball Classic over the Olympics every day of the week and twice on Sunday.
Contact Steve Urena at:
Email: theurenaexpress@gmail.com
Twitter/IG: @theurenaexpress
