The Cardinals, Angels and Rays are very much alive

Remember when I was with you last week, and I mentioned that if the Cardinals were to survive their series in Philly, they would have a great shot at making the postseason? Well, the Redbirds are one step closer to reaching October, as they took three of four from the Phillies in shocking fashion. In addition to that, St. Louis returned home and took the first two games in their series against the Mets, leaving them only 1.5 games behind the Braves with seven left to play.

The Cardinals' final seven games include their series finale against the Mets today, along with three against the Cubs and Astros. The Braves have just six left, three against Washington and three against the Phillies. With the relentless pace the Cardinals are on, it seems as if October is a mere formality for them at this point.

However, history tells us that there are reasons for Braves fans to remain optimistic about holding on to their Wild Card lead. Remember back in 2005, when it seemed like the Indians were on their way to the postseason with their ridiculous 38-16 record in August and September? It did not come to pass, as the Tribe lost six of their last seven to miss the postseason. Three of those losses came against the lowly Royals and Devil Rays, while the other three came against the White Sox, who basically started their Triple-A roster against Cleveland after clinching the Central.

In 2008, the Twins looked like they were well on their way to another AL Central  Division title after sweeping the White Sox in the penultimate series of the season. However, the Twins lost two of their last three against Kansas City, setting up a one game playoff against the White Sox which they would lose 1-0.

While this bit of history won't provide much comfort or consolation for Braves fans at this point, it just serves as a reminder that teams who go crazy in September don't always reach October. However, the Cardinals were 8.5 games behind Atlanta on September 5. Since then, they are 12-2, while Atlanta is 6-10. If the Cardials do pull this off, it will likely go down as perhaps the biggest September collapse/comeback in baseball history.

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There is also high drama unfolding in the American League Wild Card race, as Boston's free fall continues. The Carmines dropped three of four against the Baltimore Orioles this week, and have seen their Wild Card lead dwindle down to just 2.5 games over the Angels and Rays. On September 3, the Red Sox had a nine-game lead over the Rays in the Wild Card and a 9.5 game lead over the Angels. They could potentially upstage the Braves' NL collapse if they fall far enough.

Plus, this is a collapse in every sense of the term. You can still give credit to the Cardinals for getting hot at the right time, but the Rays are just 10-7 since September 3, while the Angels are 10-6 since that date. The Red Sox's record since then? A ghastly 4-14. Here's how the final games shape up for each of the three AL teams in the hunt for the Wild Card:

Joe Maddon could have his team on the brink of a historic
comeback.

Boston Red Sox:
Friday 9/23 @ Yankees
Saturday 9/24 @ Yankees
Sunday 9/25 @ Yankees
Monday 9/26 @ Orioles
Tuesday 9/27 @ Orioles
Wednesday 9/28 @ Orioles

Los Angeles Angels:
Thursday 9/22 @ Blue Jays
Friday 9/23 vs. A's
Saturday 9/24 vs. A's
Sunday 9/25 vs. A's
Monday 9/26 vs. Rangers
Tuesday 9/27 vs. Rangers
Wednesday 9/28 vs. Rangers

Tampa Bay Rays:
Thursday 9/22 @ Yankees
Friday 9/23 vs. Blue Jays
Saturday 9/24 vs. Blue Jays
Sunday 9/25 vs. Blue Jays
Monday 9/26 vs. Yankees
Tuesday 9/27 vs. Yankees
Wednesday 9/28 vs. Yankees

Looking at the schedules, it's basically a push for all three teams. Everybody faces somebody who they will have some difficulty beating. If I had to pick one team that has the toughest schedule to finish the season, it's the Angels, only because they will be battling the Rangers for the division crown in those final three games (should they still be in contention for the AL West title).

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What could also unfold from all of this is the ever-elusive three-way tie, which has never occurred in MLB history. From what I could ascertain, there have only been six instances in which there was nearly a three-way tie in MLB history:

2010 National League:
San Francisco Giants: 92-70 (NL West Champion)
Atlanta Braves: 91-71 (NL Wild Card)
San Diego Padres: 90-72

Former Padres First Baseman
Adrian Gonzalez

San Diego, after having a dreadful September, was placed in a position where they had to sweep the Giants to stay alive. The Padres took the first two games from the Giants, and if they would have won the season finale, the first three-way tie in MLB history would have taken place. Since the Giants lost the season series to the Padres, they would have traveled to San Diego to face the Padres in a one-game playoff to determine the champion of the NL West. The loser of that game would have traveled to Atlanta to play the Braves for the Wild Card title the following night. This "mini-playoff" would have put the entire NL postseason on hold, as the Phillies and Reds would have awaited the results of this extra postsesaon round.




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1967 American League:
Boston Red Sox: 92-70 (AL Champions)
Detroit Tigers: 91-71
Minnesota Twins: 91-71
Chicago White Sox: 89-73

Carl Yastrzemski's Triple Crown season in 1967
helped lead Boston to the American League Pennant.

This year nearly featured a four-way tie for the American League crown, as MLB was still two years away from implementing the playoff system. The team with the best record went to the World Series, and entering Wednesday, September 27, here's how the standings looked:

Minnesota Twins: 91-68
Boston Red Sox: 90-69, 1 GB
Chicago White Sox: 89-68, 1 GB
Detroit Tigers: 89-69, 1.5 GB

The White Sox crumbled badly unfortunately, losing their final five games to the dreadful Kansas City A's and Washington Senators. The Tigers hung tough, splitting a four game series with the California Angels to finish 91-71. The Twins would lose on September 27 to the Angels 5-1, setting up a tense, two-game series in Boston to determine the American League Pennant. The Red Sox would win both games against the Twins to capture their first American League Pennant since 1946.




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1964 National League:
St. Louis Cardinals: 93-69 (NL Champions)
Cincinnati Reds: 92-70
Philadelphia Phillies: 92-70

Phillies manager Gene Mauch watched things spiral
out of control during the end of the 1964 season.

This was the year of the infamous "Philly Phold," as the Phillies led the National League by 6.5 games with 12 left. Philadelphia would lose 10 in a row after that, with manager Gene Mauch going into panic mode, starting Jim Bunning and Chris Short (his two best starters) a combined five times during the losing streak. The Phillies managed to win their final two games against the Reds but it was too little, too late. St. Louis stormed back to capture their first NL flag since 1946. If the Cardinals lost their final regular-season game against the Mets, there would have been a three-way tie in the National League.




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1964 American League:
New York Yankees: 99-63 (AL Champions)
Chicago White Sox: 98-64
Baltimore Orioles: 97-65

Hall of Famer and relief specialist Hoyt Wilhelm
was one of many phenomenal pitchers on Chicago's
staff in 1964.

What a year! This year would be the Yankees' swan song, as they would capture their 15th pennant in 18 seasons, but not without some drama. The White Sox and Orioles hung tough with the Bronx Bombers all summer. New York caught fire in September, going 22-6 during that month, while the White Sox went 14-10 and the Orioles went 15-13. The Yankees, despite their impressive September mark, survived a late scare from the White Sox, who finished the year with a 10-2 kick, including a nine-game winning streak. It's a little complex explaining how there would have been a three-way tie that year, but I'll do my best.

The Orioles would have needed to sweep their doubleheader against Washington on September 30, which would have them finish the season on an eight-game winning streak;

The Yankees would have needed to lose two of three against Cleveland in their final series to finish 98-64.

New York would ultimately lose the World Series to St. Louis, and with an aging roster, would fall into oblivion for the next decade.




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1908 National League:

Fred Merkle was just 19 years old in 1908, but
he unfortunately made a baserunning mistake that
would haunt him for the rest of his life.

Chicago Cubs: 99-55 (NL Champions)
New York Giants: 98-56
Pittsburgh Pirates 98-56

The Cubs captured their third consecutive National League crown, thanks in large part to Fred Merkle's "boner" in the Polo Grounds earlier in the season. It would take a ton of time to explain, but if you want to find out more about Fred's baserunning blunder, please go HERE. Since the two teams remained tied at the end of the season, they had to replay the "Fred Merkle Game" at the end of the season as a de facto one game playoff, which the Cubs won.









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1908 American League:

Cleveland's Addie Joss pitched just the
fourth perfect game in MLB history in 1908.

Detroit Tigers: 90-63
Cleveland Naps (Indians): 90-64
Chicago White Sox: 88-64

Why does it seem like the Sox are always on the bad end of these things? Anyway, the Tigers captured the American League Pennant by a half-game (which wasn't nearly as controversial as their "half-game AL East Championship" 64 years later, but that's a story for another day). The highlight of this pennant race was when Cleveland's Addie Joss tossed a perfect game against the White Sox on Friday, October 2, to keep the Naps just a half-game behind Detroit with five left to play. However, the Tigers ultimately kept Cleveland at bay, as the Naps lost two of three against the St. Louis Browns at the end of the season, while tying the first game of the series against them.



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It may be a long shot, but here's to hoping that we can see the first-ever three-way tie this year in the American League. That's all for now. Take care.

The 30 Team/30 Day Report Cards: Day 24- Atlanta Braves

Atlanta Braves
Record: 91-71 (Second place in NL East, six games behind Philadelphia. NL Wild Card Champions).

Batting Leaders:
Batting Average: Omar Infante (.321)
Home Runs: Brian McCann (21)
RBIs: Brian McCann (77)
On-base Percentage: Jason Heyward (.393)

Pitching Leaders:
Wins: Tim Hudson (17)
Strikeouts: Tommy Hanson (173)
Innings Pitched: Tim Hudson (228.2)
ERA: Tim Hudson (2.83). Bullpen- Billy Wagner (1.43)
WHIP: Tim Hudson (1.15). Bullpen- Billy Wagner (0.87)
Saves: Billy Wagner (37)

Highlight of the Season: On October 3, the Braves clinched their first postseason berth since 2005, when they defeated the Phillies 8-7 at home. Also aiding them was a 3-0 Padres loss to the Giants, which prevented Atlanta from having to play a one-game playoff.

Another highlight worthy of consideration was their miraculous 10-9 comeback victory on the Cincinnati Reds on May 20. The Braves trailed the Reds 9-3 entering the bottom of ninth, before scoring seven times to win the game, which was capped by Brooks Conrad's game-winning grand slam.

Lowlight of the Season: A 3-2 loss to the Giants in Game 4 of the Division Series on October 11, which ended their season.

The Lowdown:
The Braves entered the 2010 season with reason for optimism. After all, they had one of the game's brightest young stars in Jason Heyward ready to enter the big time, and they also featured a rock-solid starting rotation that could keep up with just about anyone in the National League. Heyward made his presence known right away with a towering home run in his first major-league at-bat on Opening Day, and the Braves, behind his leadership, took off from there.

Atlanta's season did have some roller-coaster moments, though, as an injury suffered to Chipper Jones late in the season put their chances for a postseason berth in jeopardy. However, a late-season collapse by the San Diego Padres helped the Braves reach the postseason for the 15th time in 19 years. Even though they did not last long once they reached the postseason, the Braves still made Bobby Cox's final season one to remember.

Offense:
Atlanta's offense was the very definition of average last year. They finished 13th in runs scored (738), 14th in batting average (.258), fourth in on-base percentage (.339), 18th in slugging (.401) and 20th in home runs (139). While they didn't feature an overwhelming amount of power (Brian McCann led the team with just 21 homers), they featured a couple of decent contact hitters, as Martin Prado and Omar Infante each hit over .300. Atlanta's lineup was also anchored by the bat of rookie Jason Heyward, who finished his freshman campaign with a .277 average, 18 home runs, 72 RBIs and a phenomenal .393 on-base percentage. Unfortunately for him, the Giants' Buster Posey was able to capture NL Rookie of the Year honors for putting up equal numbers at a more demanding position (catcher).

Aside from the aforementioned three, the Braves featured mostly mediocre performances from the majority of their lineup.
Final Grade: C+

Pitching:
The Braves were able to reach the postseason largely off the strength of their pitching staff, which finished third in the majors in ERA (3.56), fifth in WHIP (1.27), seventh in "batting average against" (.246) and dead-last in home runs allowed (126). Leading the way were a trio of very solid starters in Tim Hudson, Tommy Hanson and Derek Lowe. Hudson provided veteran leadership in the rotation once again, leading the team in victories (17), innings pitched (228.2), ERA (2.83) and quality starts (25). Behind him was 24-year-old Tommy Hanson, who had a fine sophomore season, finishing with a 3.33 ERA and a WHIP of 1.17 in spite of his 10-11 record. Derek Lowe rounded out their pitching triumvirate, providing a stable backbone in the rotation. Lowe finished with a 16-12 record, and just missed tossing 200 innings by just 6.1 innings. Although he's aging, Lowe is still a good veteran presence to have in a rotation.

In the bullpen, Billy Wagner put on a fantastic final performance, garnering 37 saves while recording a WHIP of 0.87 and an ERA of 1.43. While the Braves will certainly miss his presence closing out games next year, they have a capable duo of Peter Moylan and Johnny Venters who are more than capable of assuming the closer's role. Moylan led the team with 85 appearances last year, and he finished with a solid 2.97 ERA with 21 holds. Venters meanwhile, was just a tad better, finishing with a 1.95 ERA, 93 strikeouts and 24 holds in 83 innings. The seemingly ageless Takashi Saito was also terrific out of the 'pen last year, recording a 2.83 ERA, 1.07WHIP and 69 strikeouts in just 54 innings.

After taking a glance at Atlanta's pitching staff, it's pretty easy to see how and why they made the playoffs.
Final Grade: A+

Wild Card: Bobby Cox
The Braves were able to send off legendary manager Bobby Cox in style last year, as they reached the playoffs for the 15th time since he took over the helm in 1990. Cox will definitely go down as arguably the best manager of the last 30 years because of his unbelievable consistency. When you make the playoffs for 14 years in a row, you are making a lot of right moves within your organization, and you are certainly getting the most out of your players in spite of the turnover that's always present within MLB organizations these days. He was also still able to maintain patience when the Braves hit a dry spell between 2006 and 2009, before guiding them back to the playoffs one last time this year. New manager Fredi Gonzalez might be good, but he has some large shoes to fill now that Cox is gone.
Final Grade: A+

Overall:
You can't complain too much about this team not going deeper into the playoffs because Cox was able to get the most out of each and every player on this roster. Even though they really benefitted from San Diego falling apart, they were still able to take advantage of that opening provided by the Padres to reach the playoffs.
Final Grade: A


Check back soon for the report card on the Cincinnati Reds!

The 30 Day/30 Team Report Cards- Day 19: Atlanta Braves

Welcome back everybody, and a pleasant Merry Christmas to you all! Today's report card will be issued to the Atlanta Braves. Let's take a look at how they did in 2009.

Atlanta Braves:
Record: 86-76 (Third place in the National League East, seven games behind Philadelphia).

Batting Leaders:
Batting Average: Martin Prado (.307)
Home Runs: Brian McCann (21)
RBIs: Brian McCann (94)
On-base Percentage: Chipper Jones (.388)

Pitching Leaders:
Wins: Derek Lowe and Javier Vazquez (15)
ERA: Jair Jurrjens (2.60). Bullpen- Mike Gonzalez (2.42)
Strikeouts: Javier Vazquez (238)
Innings Pitched: Javier Vazquez (219.1)
WHIP: Javier Vazquez (1.03)
Saves: Rafael Soriano (27)

Highlight of the Season: After being left for dead after a sweep at the hands of the Reds on September 4-6, the Braves (who were eight games back after being swept) went 16-9 to nearly make their first playoff appearance since 2005.

Lowlight of the Season: After losing to Washington at home 2-1 on October 1, the Braves were eliminated from the postseason for the fourth year in a row.

The Lowdown:
The Braves, from 1991-2005, were a model of consistency that every team tried their hardest to emulate. During that time frame, as many of you already know, they won an incredible 14 consecutive division titles, a remarkable feat that has not been accomplished by any other team in professional sports. Since 2005, however, the Braves have struggled to regain that consistency, as they have missed the postseason every year since then. During this time, the team has lacked a sense of direction, as it has not been clear as to whether or not they want to go in a youthful direction, or continue to stockpile themselves with veterans to get back to the mountain top. The result of this has been a bizarre mixture of young talent with moderately expensive free agents. The promotion of John Schuerholz from General Manager to club president in 2007 has no doubt hurt this team, mostly because current GM Frank Wren has not done nearly as great of a job maintaining Atlanta's success since then.

Offense:
The Braves featured several people who hit well for average this season, including the three biggest contributors, Matt Diaz, Martin Prado and Yunel Escobar. Diaz and Prado each hit over .300 (.313 and .307, respectively), while Escobar just missed the .300 barrier, coming in at a .299 average. The team did not hit for that much power in '09, as they collectively hit only 149 homers, which was good enough for 22nd in MLB. They were led by hard-hitting catcher Brian McCann in the power department, as he went deep 21 times and drove in 94. However, the most surprising thing to come out of Atlanta's lineup was the power outage from Chipper Jones.

Although his on-base percentage was still high (coming in at a .388 clip), he hit only 18 home runs and drove in 71 in just 143 games. His batting average was also an uncharacteristically-low .264, which was his lowest since 2004. The overall lack of power on this team still enabled him to finish second on the club in homers to McCann, but his power totals have been on a gradual decline since 2008. Since he will be 38 next year, this is perhaps just a sign of him getting older.

Collectively, the team finished 17th in runs scored (735) and tied for 11th in on-base percentage (.339) and in batting average (.263). With their lack of power, this offense is nothing more than merely average.
Final Grade: C+

Pitching:
Atlanta received strong pitching performances in 2009 from the arms of Jair Jurrjens and Javier Vazquez, who recorded 14 and 15 wins, respectively, to go along with ERAs under three (Jurrjens- 2.60, Vazquez- 2.87). Vazquez's performance was aslo buoyed by his high strikeout total; his 238 Ks were the second-highest in the National League, trailing only San Francisco's Tim Lincecum. Derek Lowe also put together a fair season in the Braves' rotation, as he also won 15 games, but his high ERA of 4.67 left him as only the third-best starter on the team, in my opinion. The Braves also received a fantastic rookie pitching performance from Tommy Hanson, who will be mentioned later in the "Wild Card" section of the post.

The Braves' bullpen was fantastic this past season, as three pitchers recorded ERAs under three in over 75 appearances (Peter Moylan- 2.84 ERA in 87 games, Mike Gonzalez- 2.42 ERA in 80 games, Rafael Soriano- 2.97 ERA in 77 games). Eric O'Flaherty also put together a great season in the bullpen, as he recorded a 3.04 ERA in 78 appearances himself. Moylan, Gonzalez and O'Flaherty all spent time in the set-up role as well, with each of them recording 15 holds or greater. Gonzalez even received some opportunities to close out games, as he recorded 10 saves during the season. He ended up finishing second on the staff in that category to Soriano's 27.

Overall, the Braves' pitching staff put up an impressive team ERA of 3.57, which was the third-best in all of baseball, trailing only the Giants and Dodgers. As a result of this, they surrendered the fourth-least amount of runs in MLB, giving up only 641 of them. They weren't letting many base runners on either, as they only surrendered 530 walks (tied for 10th-lowest in MLB), and held their opponents to a .254 batting average (sixth-lowest in MLB). Even though nobody is mistaking Vazquez, Jurrjens and Lowe for Maddux, Smoltz and Glavine, this staff's final numbers would have certainly made those three legends proud.
Final Grade: A+

Wild Card: Tommy Hanson
The 6-6, 220 pound righty from Tulsa, Oklahoma made his major league debut in the starting rotation in 2009, and he did not disappoint, as he put together a fine rookie season. In 21 starts, he went 11-4, with a 2.89 ERA in 127.2 innings. His WHIP was also a very impressive 1.18 during that time span as well. While he did receive some Rookie of the Year consideration, he ultimately did not win it, as the Marlins' Chris Coghlan took home the trophy. Despite not winning the award, nothing can tarnish the fantastic season put together by Hanson, and the Braves certainly have to be excited about him going into 2010.
Final Grade: A

Overall:
This was a pretty good team this past season, but they were nowhere near being on Philadelphia's level. Also complicating things were the Florida Marlins, who practically matched the Braves, piece-by-piece, during the '09 season. They are good enough to match the talent level of other middle-of-the-pack National League teams, but are they good enough to take it to the next level in 2010? We shall see.
Final Grade: B

Check back tomorrow for the report card on the Minnesota Twins!