Steven Urena
By Steven Urena
(Friday Night Lights! Good luck to my friends coaching football tonight. Life’s not always this fun. Enjoy it. )
American League Contenders and Pretenders
Tampa Bay Rays
Moneyball. The Rays are 26th in payroll for the 2021 season. The teams they are duking it out with, Yankees and Sox, are 2nd and 6th. Without Tyler Glasnow, I had the Rays dead in the water. Literally a dead fish in the water. The poor guys have prevailed. They sit at 84 games. Behind only the Dodgers and Giants. I caught the Rays and Red Sox game the other day. Man, do the Rays look hungry. Watch out baseball, the Moneyballers are coming for you! If I had to pick today, I would pick the Rays to breeze through the AL and get to the World Series.
New York Yankees & Boston Red Sox
The Yanks and Sox are the best rivalry in sports. Even though they’re not fighting for the division, they are still fighting for their playoff lives. The NL East seems out of sight and out of mind for both teams but you bet they will fight each other until the bitter end for bragging rights and for the chance to get in the playoffs. The Yankees hold a game and a half lead over their bitter rivals. The Yankees had everything going for them until the last couple days. The Sox have been hot and cold. I see the Yankees finishing on top of the wild card and ultimately beating the Sox.
Chicago White Sox
I’ve been saying it for years. Win 2 out of 3! That’s the ChiSox mantra this year. They had a rough 3 or 4 game stretch recently but for the most part, they keep winning 2 of 3. The Southsiders are a good team. They have all the weapons that can beat you. Pitching, hitting and a lights out bullpen. A few weeks ago I had them killing the AL. My gut tells me the Rays are better. This seems to be the Rays moment. Experience kills. The Rays have been there. However, you gotta give the White Sox a punchers chance. I expect a great 7 game series between the ChiSox and Rays come October.
Houston Astros
I hate to say it but you always gotta give the Astros a chance. They have talent and they have experience. Over a month ago they looked like the team to beat in the AL. Lately, it’s up for debate. A hot Astros team can find many ways to beat you. Last year they were a below .500 team and battled a good Rays team to a 7 game series in the ALCS. This year, the Astros have a good team and have an enormous chip on their shoulder. Although I don’t see them getting past the ALDS, I also wouldn’t be surprised to see them win the pennant. If I had to bet money, they lose in 5 to the White Sox.
Oakland A’s
The original Moneyballers. They started doing A’s things and went 7-12 recently. That can’t happen to a team with playoff hopes. With so few games left and them trailing the Astros by 4 ½, their best bet is the wild card. The A’s won’t get past the Yankees or Red Sox.
MLB
The Dodgers and Giants are facing off tonight in the most important series of the year for both clubs. Expect a dog fight every game. Both teams are going to pull out all the stops.
Javy Baez…what a chump. You’re in the Major Leagues. You’re in New York. If you don’t want to get booed than plan better. Definitely don’t cry about it.
Shohei Ohtani is the MVP of baseball. Too bad he plays for the Angels. I wonder what type of prospects the Angels could get for Ohtani and Mike Trout? I bet they could build a contender on their two guys alone. They’ll take heat for it but it would work in their favor. Just a thought.
FYI…I picked Gerrit Cole and Walker Buehler to win the Cy Youngs in their respective league. Looking good so far.
The playoffs will be wild this year. I expect to see competitive games and series that go the maximum number of games. I would say it’s the most competitive balance of teams in quite some time.
Contact Steve Urena at:
Email: theurenaexpress@gmail.com
Twitter/IG: @theurenaexpress
