September 27, 2004
Games of the Day
It seems appropriate that what could be the last MLB series played in Montreal involves the Florida Marlins. The Marlins ownership abandoned the Expos, and took everything of value from the team when they made their way south. I hope the Expos put up a good fight in these games. Josh Beckett, whose disappointing season went a long way toward the Marlins not repeating, makes the start tonight for Florida vs. John Patterson.
Scott Kazmir gets the start against the Red Sox and Bronson Arroyo tonight. Kaz shut the Sox out for six innings the last time he faced them. A Boston win and an Angels loss puts the Red Sox into the playoffs.
The Rangers will try to pin that loss on the Angels as they open a four-game series in Texas. It's a good matchup, too as Bartolo Colon faces Kenny Rogers. The gambler has pitched good but not great against the Angels this year; he gives up a lot of hits, but no HR and no walks. He keeps his team in the game. Colon, on the other hand, has mauled the Rangers. He's 5-0 with a 2.12 ERA vs. Texas this season. He's allowed a .157 BA while striking out 30 in 34 innings. It should be noted that if not for his record against Texas, Colon would be below .500.
The Houston Astros are still alive for the wild card. They need some help from the Reds and the Padres, but they will have their hands full with St. Louis. I don't know what La Russa's strategy will be in these games. Obviously, the Cards are more concerned with getting their rotation in order and their players healthy. It's a good week to try to sweep the Cardinals. The Astros have Oswalt and Clemens going in the series (Roy tonight). If they can sweep the Cardinals, they'll have a relatively easy series with the Rockies to finish the season.
Finally, the Athletics and Dodgers should each get a breather as they play weak sisters in the division. The Athletics take on Seattle for four games. The Mariners are finishing the season on a high note as Ichiro's hitting has helped them to spoil division bids by Anaheim and Texas. The Athletics are in first due more to the Mariners play than their own at this point. The A's need to take 3 out of four here, and hope that Texas and the Angels can knock each other out before next weekend.
The same holds true for the Dodgers. They need to win three out of four against the Rockies, and hope that San Diego can win two of three from the Giants. LA fans would like next weekend's series with the Giants to be meaningless.
Enjoy!
Update: Dave in the comments points out that due to the scheduling in the AL West, the Red Sox magic number is actually 1. A Red Sox victory or an Angels loss tonight puts Boston in the playoffs.
Update: Sorry, their is a mistake in the above item. A Sox loss and an Angels loss does not give the Red Sox the wild card, since the Rangers could still tie the Red Sox. Only a Sox victory tonight will give the Red Sox the Wild Card. So, in a way, their magic number isn't really one.
Posted by David Pinto at
02:24 PM
|
Games
|
TrackBack (0)
The Red Sox magic number is technically two, but they clinch the playoffs with just one win (no need for an angels loss).
If the Sox win one game, they are 94-68.
If the Angels win out, they are 94-68, forcing a playoff, right?
Well not really, because if they win out, they have to beat the A's
three times, which means that the Angels would win the division. If
the A's lose those 3 games, they are 92-70. Sox win the wild card.
The reason the magic number is really 2 is if the sox actually went 0-7, they would finish 93-69.
If the Angels went 6-1, they would finish 93-69. That one loss could
be against the A's, who could be 5-2 (with those two losses to the
angels), to also finish 93-69 also.
all they have to do is win one game, because the angels and a's can't both win when they play
each other!
Hmm, had forgotten about the Rangers, although my point remained true "The Red Sox magic number is technically two, but they clinch the playoffs with just one win (no need for an angels loss)."
Not that it matters any more, the Sox are in!