Stretch run Predictions

Well here we are in September, the official stretch run and the Yankees are going to be playing meaningful baseball against the Rays, which is not surprising and the Orioles, which is extremely surprising. Of the eight playoff spots seven are still decently up in the air, but as we saw last September any lead can evaporate. Here are my predictions for the playoff spots.

American League

AL East-Yankees
Quite honestly the division could easily go to the Rays or the Orioles, but the Yankees are the ones with the lead and are hopefully going to get Mark Teixeira, Arod and Andy Pettitte back soon so that should only be an improvement over the current roster. For all the pessimism from Yankees fans, the Yankees still have the best team in the AL East and should still win the division.

AL Central- White Sox
Ive talked about this quite a bit, I know the Tigers are the better team but the White Sox have been ahead of them for long enough that people need to accept that they are not going to just conceded to the Tigers. The White Sox lost three of four to the Orioles are are still three games up on the Tigers. The White Sox have a good enough team to win the division and the Tigers have played crappy baseball all season, why wouldn't they in September?

AL West- Rangers
This one is easy, despite the injuries the Rangers have suffered they are four games up on the A's and 8.5 games up on the Angels. The A's could make a run, but that Texas offense is too good to lose the division and Ryan Dempster will probably adjust to the AL.

AL Wild card- Rays v. Tigers
How awesome is the playoff going to be if the pitching match up is  David Price vs. Justin Verlander. The Tigers are 3 games back, but the AL east is going to beat up on each other which will leave an opening for the Tigers or A's and I expect the Tigers will prevail.


National League

NL East-Nationals
I know they are going to shut down Stephen Strasburg, but unless the other four members of the rotation forget how to pitch they are going to win that division, they are just too good.

NL Central- Reds
The Reds currently have the best record in baseball without Joey Votto and he's coming back soon. Johnny Cueto is a legitimate CY Young candidate and both Todd Frazier and Zach Cozart being NL ROY candidates. Their Rotation and Offense are both great and they have the best shot of finishing with the best record in baseball having won 80 games already.

NL West- Giants
The Dodgers had their mega deal with the Sox and the Giants lost Melky, but the Giants are playing better right now and winning the games they need to win. Even with Timmys troubles their pitching is better than the Dodgers and I expect they will ride that pitching into October. It also helps that Buster Posey is having an MVP caliber season.

NL Wild card- Atlanta v. Cardinals
Atlanta is having a great year and do not look like they will fall like they did last season, also despite the Dodgers acquisitions, they aren't clicking right now and while that can change I think that the Cardinals are built to make a run better than the Pirates or Dodgers. I initially went with the Dodgers but I do not know if they can make up that deficit without Chad Billingsly.