jaysfan2014

More bad news for the Red Sox: http://mlb.nbcsports.com/2017/12/10/report-steven-wright-arrested-on-domestic-assault-charges/ If this charges are true whether he gets convicted or not, Wright will likely face a lengthy suspension under MLB's domestic abuse policies--and it will mean Brian Johnson as Boston's 5th starter in 2018 to start (he's out of options and either will be in the rotation or bullpen on Opening Day). They're already without Pedroia and E-Rod until June.. they can't afford more injuries or suspensions.

He'll be on a bigger market club next year where he'll be more noticed--Rays will likely deal him this offseason because of his looming 10/5 rights coming up in April 2018. With a very tight budget and the city dragging its feet on a new stadium, along with the likelihood a major rebuild is coming, Rays will likely deal him for prospects/young players that will help when the new stadium is built or when they relocate to another city...

Cubs have been erratic this season..and have started to fade again after a recent run due to the Quintana trade (7-9 in August).. and this lineup is missing quite a bit of pieces (Russell, Contreras)..

Kiermaier's back with the Rays! Not like it's going to do any good at this point.. corresponding moves on the 25 and 40 still TBA. He didn't hit much on rehab.. but the Rays want his D back. Either Smith or Bourjos will be sent to AAA or in Bourjos' case, DFAd...

I still don't get how the Angels are a serious contender--while the pitching's been strong this month, their offense outside of Trout and Simmons still looks like a AAA team... plus having a weak schedule and having the Mariners bullpen mail away all 4 wins in that series vs. the Angels helps... they stll can't hit for average, walk or for power.. Of course, most of the other teams in the 2nd wild card are equally uninspiring.. it'll come down to who's the least mediocre. And it's important the Jays take advantage...

Yes, and yet they're running out Luis Cessa tonight instead of calling up Chance Adams... are they trying to let other teams back in the playoff race? Because it sure feels like it.. and Tanaka/Sabathia aren't expected back until late August at a minimum..

And that includes the Jays--heck, if he we take 3/4 or sweep Tampa, we could be right within distance of the 2nd wild card ourselves--Angels get a difficult series with the Nats and the Orioles this week, two teams that are hitting well--even without Harper, Washington is still a tough team. Minnesota's going to have a bad week--Cleveland is on their sked, then the D-Backs.. which should pretty much put an end to the Twins chances.. seriously, the Twins aren't that good.. they were lucky to be playing a bad Tigers team and a collapsing Brew Crew.. that godawful bullpen really hurts the Twins. And the Royals have Oakland, then Cleveland.. It is important the Jays keep winning series.. with the depleted AL this year, the Jays still have an outside shot of playing in October..

Looks like a torn ACL... it would be a huge blow to the Nats organization if he's injured long term.. as teams will stop pitching to Daniel Murphy and Ryan Zimmerman with no protection in the lineup.

Regarding what you just said: 1. The AL wild card race this year is an absolute joke. 2nd wild card is currently being held by 2 teams that are only 2 games above .500-- and it's embarassing that even the Jays are still in it despite being 54-60... previous years there was more a runaway for both wild card, and less competition. Some of the issues why the wild card race is so lousy is because Houston is running away with the AL West, Boston is close to doing the same with the AL East, and the Central stinks.. not to mention any teams playing the dominant Washington Nationals and LA/ARZ/COL are messing up the standings. In previous years, teams in the wild card have been upwards of 10 games+ over .500 at this point.. especially last year, when the Red Sox, Blue Jays and O's jousted for the AL East and wild cards.. all of whom made the playoffs, though the Jays ended up in the ALCS and lost to Cleveland.. Meanwhile, the NL Wild Card race has been near over for months--it's a strong bet Arizona and Colorado will be fighting for a date with the Dodgers in October. NL Central has been unusually tight as the Cubs have meandered in mediocrity this year as regression has hit, allowing teams like the Cards, Brewers and even Pirates to stay in the mix. 2. Agreed on the Royals--now they risk being awful in 2018 and beyond, especially if none resign. 3. Even with Trout and Simmons (and to a lesser extent Pujols), Angels still aren't scoring.. tied with the Blue Jays for lowest scoring team/game (though the Angels have played 2 more games). Injuries have gutted the rotation--only the bullpen and the surprising Parker Bridwell has kept them even close to sniffing .500.

Kansas City has also crashed as their starting pitching and bullpen have imploded, and the offense has struggled. Suddenly, it makes the team look dumb for not trading Cain, Hosmer and/or Moustakas when their value was high at the deadline.. especially knowing the team is going to be gutted by free agency. Sal Perez's injury has accelerated the decline.. Minnesota has been strange--went into a bad slump, traded Jaime Garcia to the Yankees, and surprisingly have won 7 of 9, pretty much after Buxton returned, and are suddenly making a run at not just the wild card, but possibly the AL Central as well as Cleveland has still yet to have its big run that pulls them away in the division.. and injuries continue to plague the team. Oh, and the Twins have plenty of games left with Cleveland.. including next week. Angels are still strange--nothing more than Mike Trout and a questionable pitching staff, yet they're within a game of Seattle/Tampa.. And of course, the O's got hot after the Beckham trade.. and have a shot at the wild card as they have games vs. the Mariners on the upcoming sked..

Of course, anyone who gets the wild card will have to play Houston--better hope the Astros keep collapsing into October (2-7 post trade-deadline). And I'm not convinced about the Yankees after their absolute crap job they did in Toronto and with the Tigers recently.. especially when the Yanks have a lot of games vs. Boston left.. who looked poised to run away with the division..

AL Wild Card #2 race is getting increasingly to be a joke.. 6 teams are within 1.5 of the wild card, and the Jays and Rangers aren't far behind.. as neither the Rays or Mariners are making much of an effort to seperate themselves from the pack, and the Royals have choked away their lead (2-8 in their last 10). Rays can't score and the Mariners are really short in the rotation (Paxton got injured last night in case you missed the Angels game).

And his velocity looks down.. injury?

I think they need to check on Osuna.. 7th blown save of the season and the 2nd time in a week he's blown a game. He's got to be injured or he's having anxiety problems.. bad loss for the Jays.

Isn't everyone trying to in the AL wild card race? Kansas City is doing a major choke job in the last week--a Jays win and a Royals loss drops our deficit down to 4 games. Another Mariners win in the 2nd half of the DH would drop our deficit to 3.5... and remember, the Royals lost Sal Perez for a while.. Rays, another contender, gets the hot Red Sox and Cleveland next.. while the Mariners are playing Oakland and LA this week..

Astros are doing their best imitation of the post-trade deadline Blue Jays of 2014.. about to lose 6 of their last 8, and badly need bullpen help and Springer/Correa..

Blake Trienen, Jesus Luzardo and Sheldon Neuse go to Oakland: Trienen is a change of scenery candidate--hopefully moving to bigger ballparks in the AL West will help his numbers. Jesus Luzardo is a 19 year old dominating rookie ball.. he's a long ways away. Sheldon Neuse is a 22-year old SS/3B in mid A-ball. Basically, this was a salary dump trade. Nats are trying to stack up for 2017 and 2018, knowing their house of cards will collapse after 2018 when Bryce Harper leaves for Chicago, LA, New York, whereever.. they have to win a World Series now, as they won't be able to afford to keep their roster together. 2 years from now, this org. is going to be a dumpster fire.. they have $107M+ tied up with only 4 players (Scherzer and Strasburg are heavily backloaded.)

Cubs season in a nutshell--they have blown an 8-0 lead, and are now tied 8-8 in the 8th after Schoop just hit a HR. **** the Orioles...

Wow, if things couldn't any worse for the Yankees.. losing Pineda hurts, as it thins their already thin rotation depth and forces Cessa into the rotation.. hurting the bullpen. Basically, it forces the Yankees to start looking for controllable pitchers on the trade market for this season and the next few.. losing Pineda 3 months early to a significant injury puts serious pressure on the team, and may basically give Boston free rein to run away with the AL East, and Tampa and a AL Central, West (and unlikely, but not of the question, the Blue Jays) to steal the 2nd wild card..

Definitely not. We were playing frigging Houston! It's shocking the Jays even split.. imagine if all the Astros pitching was healthy.

Regardless, Milwaukee is still the top team in the NL Central based on that link.. and St. Louis is underperforming Yankees 53-33 on BaseRuns? Too bad a lack of bullpen depth is killing them (notably Clippard), along with struggles in the starting rotation for the vets.. Severino and Montgomery need more help around them so that they don't wear down as the home stretch approaches as both are well on their way to career highs in workload.. and none of Tanaka, Pineda, or Cessa have been consistent, and Sabathia's been hurt..

To be fair, only 4 of those teams (Yankees, Rays, Twins, Royals) are true threats to be in the wild card--the AL West teams not named Houston are trash, and Baltimore has been in freefall since their 22-10 start (20-36 since then). As for the Brewers--most of their stats show they're for real. And they have a fairly easy sked down the stretch..

Ok, but I just can't see the Cubs making the playoffs when they're 5.5 back and have pitching and offense issues--basically, a similar issue the Blue Jays have but with a better pen, and the same depth problems the Jays have in starting pitching (Cubs don't really have any young pitching to call up).. both our starting rotations are a mess. The problem is that the Cubs have more to lose if they miss the playoffs--Arrieta, Davis and Lackey and others are gone at season's end, and Iowa is barren of any decent pitching prospects.. Chicago's dynasty may have already ended with that World Series title last year, as Milwaukee is already on the rise, and you can expect Cincy to start improving in the next year or two.. uncertain on Pittsburgh and St. Louis though.. Any money they save with Arrieta and Lackey leaving will be eaten up by arb raises, notably to Kris Bryant (Super 2 player--arb eligble for 4 years). Plus, the Cubs need a leadoff man badly.. Kris Bryant especially would like to see one (only 38 RBIs to go with his 18 HRs.. he's not getting any runners on base to drive in).

Some of FanGraphs' playoff odds are a joke right now--how do the Cubs still have a 62.8% chance(53.1% for a division crown) of a postseason berth when they're 5.5 back and have as little chance of postseason ball as the Blue Jays, who are 5 back in the wild card? And St. Louis still favored over the Brew Crew? Who does these odds?

Let's hope Francona gets better soon.. the Indians are sinking. 0-2 vs. the freaking Padres and facing an embarassing sweep tomorrow.. as the Royals surge toward the AL Central lead.