jaysfan2014

O's about to lose to the Yankees.. suddenly, the chances of the Jays being competitive in the O's series has increased.. having no Chris Davis weakens the Orioles lineup, regardless of how low he was hitting.. he did take walks. EDIT: Hold on, Nelson Cruz just doubled.. let's hope Robertson doesn't blow it.. but I wouldn't mind seeing extra innings, so that the O's blow out their bullpen.

2016 is more realistic. A repeat of 2013 is unlikely. The 2013 team was a fluke caused by career years by Ellsbury, Napoli, Victorino, Nava and Drew. You can't expect Ortiz and Pedroia to continue to carry the team long term, due to age and injury concerns. And outside of Buchholz and De La Rosa, who knows what the pitching staff will be?

They'll also likely give his teammates Josh Harrison and Andrew McCutchen votes as well. And agreed on Lucroy.. not only is his defense great at C and 1B, he has 51 doubles this season! The one thing that might hurt his MVP chances though is the Brewers recent collapse, as their pitching has stumbled in the last month.

He should get some if he gets the Pirates to the postseason, although he is unlikely to win MVP. It's pretty much between Stanton and Rendon.

Look, pitchers rarely win the MVP. Only Justin Verlander (who pitched a full season and wasn't on the DL to start the season like Kershaw), Dennis Eckersley and Roger Clemens have won MVPs as pitchers in the past 30 years. Most of the time, voters prefer players that play everyday. If Kershaw had pitched the full season like Verlander did, he'd be a runaway favorite.

Surprised Anthony Rendon doesn't get some love..along with playing a decent 2B and 3B, he leads the league in runs scored. And he's leading Washington to the postseason as well..

IF he were a position player. More likely the voters will pick Stanton.

Trout and Stanton. Kershaw shouldn't be allowed to get the MVP, because he is not an everyday player, and only pitches every 5 days. Even if Stanton doesn't get Miami to the playoffs, he's the best player in the NL right now. As for Trout.. need we say more? Leads in RBIs, Runs scored, total bases, near the top in 2B and 3B, top 5 in HRs, top in runs created, XBH, and WAR. And he's helping the Angels get to the postseason.

No teams have been named.. mostly speculation on bidding potentially commanding upwards of $100M. But rumor has it RAJ is courting him for the Phillies, and the Red Sox are courting him.. but no confirmation.

You also have to keep in mind that the Jays also have the TV revenue as well. Stronger ratings will help our payroll, especially if the team stays in contention, and MLB's new TV deals help as well. MLB attendance is down overall this season, BTW, to date (-124/game), led by declines in big markets like Detroit (financial issues in the city), Philly (no plan), Texas (terrible team). And due to recessionary conditions, markets like Tampa and Cleveland, who contended last year, are down. Even Baltimore, being in contention, is getting very little bump at the gate. It'll be worse next season when NY and Boston's attendance numbers are likely to drop due to neither team being in contention and Jeter's retirement.

Mariners lose. Now it's time for the Jays to streak.. please beat Baltimore!

Royals lose! Potentially crushing blow to their playoff hopes losing 3/4 to Boston, especially with their struggles with the Tigers and Indians this season. The White Sox series may be their only hope.

Some things to consider whether the Royals will make it: -Not hitting (.233/.277/.332) in September -Can't beat the Tigers, Indians or Red Sox -Facing Chris Sale in the White Sox series (both of them), and Quintana in the season finale series.

We're 3.5 out because KC will lose that game vs. Cleveland when they finish that inning. And KC has Detroit and Cleveland left, and it's anybody's guess on the White Sox series.

Bad news: The Jays are about to lose.. Good news: Boston leads KC 8-4, so we'll stay 3.5 out(including the assumed loss). And of course, we still have the Mariners/A's game.

Regarding the Angels game, Mike Trout is 3-3, 2 HR, 3 R, 2 RBIs. If Mike Trout doesn't win MVP, the voters are out of their mind. He's turning into this generation's version of Derek Jeter, a face of the franchise and league.. but as an OF with strong power and average.

Extras in Seattle. You can imagine the Angels are liking this.. they'd love to see the Mariners pen worn, so that the Angels can run up their win total on their way to 100 wins, which is where they're headed.

Angels headed for 10 straight wins, leading 5-2 to Houston.

With a wrecked foot due to a Lisfranc injury? He'll be lucky to avoid being DFAd if he doesn't improve next season. Since he went to Boston, he's batting .093/.234/.185. It's likely St. Louis felt he'll never be the same player after the Lisfranc injury, so they dumped his contract on an offensively desperate Red Sox team.

While the Red Sox have a deep prospect pool, it's mostly pitching. The reason I am negative on the Sox has more to do with the lack of replacements for David Ortiz and Mike Napoli in the system, failed prospects (Bradley Jr., Middlebrooks) and an uncertain pitching staff for 2015. Even if they offer money, this is an organization that wouldn't pay up for Lester just two months ago, plus will likely be competing with an up and coming Cubs team with Theo Epstein for his services. Shields is a possibility, but that would be a huge mistake, as Shields is 2-9 with a 5.42 ERA career at Fenway, plus will be 33 next season. And Scherzer will be out of Boston's price and year range.

Well, with Cleveland's loss, it may be down to Seattle/Oakland/Toronto/KC, as the Indians are fading fast, now 4.5/5.0 games back. Don't forget, those Tigers are facing the Royals next weekend, and the Royals have not been able to beat the Tigers this season (5-11) Basically, the Angels and Tigers/Indians/White Sox will determine whether the Jays can make the postseason.

This White Sox team just beat Oakland this week, plus Chris Sale is projected in the Royals series. Plus, the Royals do not score.

Rusney Castillo's callup may have to wait.. Pawtucket won the IL championship over Durham. They'll move on to face Reno (D-Backs affil.) or Omaha (KC Royals) on Tuesday.

Boston will still be a last place team or close to it in 2015, and possibly 2016. Boston needs a lot more than Betts and those young pitchers. They need a 1B, a DH to replace David Ortiz, a 3B that can actually hit, and development from Castillo and Bogaerts. The bigger concerns are Pedroia's decline and Ortiz's age(close to 40). And because of several players being rushed (Bradley Jr., Ranaudo, Webster), several of the prospects values have dropped substantially. Most free agents will prefer to go after a title now than wait until 2016-17 to win, which is how long it'll take for Boston to contend. And you do realize our pitching prospects have significantly more upside than Boston's, right? Outside of Owens, most of their young arms have shown that they're not close to MLB ready, except for Rubby De La Rosa, and/or are likely bullpen arms (Webster). BTW, Mookie Betts is no longer a prospect.. he's used up his prospect eligibility. And Boston isn't going to raise payroll much further, especially considering ownership has a football team to invest in, and the fact that the Red Sox are at least 2-3 years from being a threat again.

With the Royals win, the Jays are 3.5 back of the Royals (including the assumed loss vs. Cleveland). Luckily for the Jays, the Royals have a tough White Sox team who have played a little better recently and have Chris Sale in the series, plus the Mariners have automatic losses coming vs. the Angels. And if the Mariners sweep, the A's will be less of a concern. Basically, it's only the Mariners and Royals we really need to keep an eye on.