MLB Standings Watch: Reasons to keep watching Red Sox
Aug 30, 2015; New York City, NY, USA; Boston Red Sox outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. (25) hits an RBI ground rule double in the seventh inning against the New York Mets at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports
We have known for a while now that this season is going nowhere for the Boston Red Sox. As the calendar flips to the final full month of the season the team sits 8.5 games back of a playoff spot and hopelessly out of contention. While we may not be left with the excitement of the postseason chase, there are still plenty of reasons to continue watching the Red Sox in September.
Many fans tuned out on this season a while ago due to the team’s struggles, but those that did have been missing out lately. Why should you keep watching the Red Sox the rest of this season?
Because…
Those that stopped paying attention still believe Jackie Bradley can’t hit. It wasn’t long ago that people questioned if he would ever produce enough at the plate to warrant putting him in the lineup, but he proved doubters wrong by hitting .354 in August. He has a hit in 6 of his last 7 at-bats, with 4 of those hits going for doubles. Bradley’s .938 OPS isn’t just the best on the team, it’s the 7th best in the league among hitters with at least 100 at-bats this season. So yeah… the kid can hit.
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Xander Bogaerts is looking to become the first Red Sox hitter to win a batting title since Bill Mueller in 2003. Ok, so nobody is realistically going to catch Miguel Cabrera, who has a commanding lead with a .359 average and is in his own stratosphere with four batting titles in the last five years. Then again, Cabrera is nearly 100 plate appearances shy of ensuring he will even qualify. He’s been banged up this season and the Tigers are out out of contention. It’s possible Cabrera gets shut down early and falls short of the necessary plate appearances to to eligible for the award. Meanwhile, Bogaerts is 5th in the race with a .316 average and within striking distance of second place Michael Brantley (.323).
The dreadful Rick Porcello extension may still be salvageable. Fine, so he probably won’t live up to his price tag, but he also may not be a total bust. Everyone was ready to give up on him after his first 20 dreadful starts in a Red Sox uniform, but he’s been a different pitcher since his return from the disabled list. He has given up only 1 earned run in his last 15 innings with 18 strikeouts and only 1 walk. He’s pounding the strike zone and the movement on his sinker is back. Over the final month of the season we may finally get to see the version of Porcello the Red Sox thought they were trading for.
Ortiz is 5 HRs shy of 500. He has hit at least 5 HRs in the month of September in 10 of his 12 seasons with the #RedSox
— Sean Penney (@spenney83) September 1, 2015
David Ortiz is chasing history. Big Papi is only 5 homers shy of joining the exclusive 500 Home Run club. He has hit at least 5 home runs in the month of September in 10 of his last 12 seasons in Boston. He needs one more home run and 20 more RBI’s for his 9th career 30 HR, 100 RBI season. Ortiz’s quest to cement his legacy as one of the game’s all-time greatest sluggers should be enough reason in itself to keep watching this team.
It’s been a disappointing season for the Red Sox, who dug their own grave early with sub-par performances. However, this team is still loaded with exciting young talent that has been a joy to watch blossom. The offense is finally hitting at the level we expected from them, with the third most runs scored in the league and a lineup boasting 6 players that have appeared in at least 20 games since the break that are hitting over .300 in the season’s second half.
We won’t get to watch the Red Sox in the playoffs this year, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have reasons to keep watching them now.
Aug 30, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Twins designated hitter Miguel Sano (22) hits a 2 run home run against the Houston Astros in the seventh inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports
Rising
(American League team gaining momentum)
Minnesota Twins: Just when we were ready to write them off, the Twins come storming back. Minnesota has won 8 of their last 10 to pull within a game of the Texas Rangers for the final playoff spot. How are they doing it? Their pitching is below average, with their rotation and bullpen both ranking in the bottom half of the league this season. They are middle of the pack in runs scored and only 12th in OPS. Their defense has been among the worst in the league with -18 defensive runs saved as a team. Even their -5 run differential suggests they are a slightly below average team. Yet here they are knocking on the door to the postseason.
22-year old Miguel Sano has given the Twins a boost since his July call-up. He’s only 50 games into his big league career, but he’s more than holding his own with a .294 average and 14 home runs. Granted it’s a small sample size, but his 1.011 OPS is second in the league among hitters with at least 200 plate appearances. He contributes nothing defensively, having spent 41 of his first 50 games as a DH (not a great sign for a player so young), but the Twins won’t care as long as he keeps hitting like this.
Will Minnesota keep this up through the final month of the season? They’ve exceeded most of our expectations by hanging around this long. The next couple of weeks could seal their fate, with 9 of their next 11 games coming on the road. The Twins .415 winning percentage on the road is the second worst among the teams within 5 games of the second Wild Card spot.
Aug 26, 2015; Detroit, MI, USA; Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout (27) gets set to bat in the first inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Falling
(American League team that is struggling)
Los Angeles Angels: A dreadful 10-19 record last month has dropped the Angels back to .500 and 3.5 games out of a playoff spot.
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What happened to Mike Trout? He had been running away with the MVP race in the first half of the season, but has plummeted back to mere mortal levels. He hit a meager .218 in August with only 1 homer and 7 RBI. He’s still drawing walks, boosting his OBP to a respectable .352 for the month, but he’s not driving the ball with authority. That suggests the wrist issue that cost him a few games in late July may still be lingering. Trout put together a four-hit game over the weekend that included a pair of extra-base hits, so perhaps that’s a sign that he’s about to heat up again. The Angels will need him to if they expect to hang in this race.
The rest of the team isn’t doing much to pick up the slack for their struggling star. Los Angeles is last in the league in runs scored, batting average and OPS since the break. The pitching hasn’t been much better, ranking 11th in the season’s second half with a 4.57 ERA.
It wasn’t long ago that Hector Santiago was contending for the ERA title, but he owns a 5.93 ERA over his last 9 starts to drop out of the top-10 in the league. Santiago has issued the 9th most walks in the league with 54, so those control issues were bound to catch up with him eventually.
The Angels need their best players to start playing like stars again in order to carry this top-heavy team to the postseason.
Aug 26, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher David Price (14) pitches against the Texas Rangers during the game at Globe Life Park in Arlington. The Blue Jays defeat the Rangers 12-4. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
AL East Standings
(Division standings as of Wednesday morning)
Playoff Outlook
(Division leaders and teams holding a Wild Card spot in the American League)
AL East: Toronto Blue Jays (75-57)
AL Central: Kansas City Royals (80-51)
AL West: Houston Astros (73-60)
Wild Card: New York Yankees (73-58)
Wild Card: Texas Rangers (69-62)
The Yankees have a comfortable four game lead for home-field advantage over the team they would face in the Wild Card round. The Bronx Bombers are within 1.5 games of the Blue Jays for the division title, with both teams likely to make the postseason, regardless of who ends up on top.
The Rangers are clinging to the final Wild Card spot with the Twins breathing down their necks. The Angels and Tampa Bay Rays are still in the mix at 3.5 games back, but both are struggling to stay above .500, while the suddenly surging Cleveland Indians can’t be counted out yet at 5 games back.
The Baltimore Orioles have gone into a tailspin, losing 6 straight and 9 of their last 10 to fall 6.5 games out of a playoff spot. Stick a fork in those birds, they are all done.
Oddly enough the Oakland A’s remain in the basement, despite having a +14 run differential that is the 6th best in the league. Of the teams reasonably within striking distance of a Wild Card spot, only the Yankees (+78) have a positive run differential.