Indians Fire Manager Manny Acta

When you go 21-50 in the second half and fall into a tie for the worst record in the American League your job security gets awful shaky. Indians manager Manny Acta found that out today when the team informed him he was being relieved of his duties for the final six games of the season. Bench coach Sandy Alomar Jr. is set to take over and is a strong candidate to replace Acta as the full-time manager come 2013.

After putting up a decent 44-41 record before the All-Star break the Indians absolutely collapsed in the second half and while the manager doesn't play the games he's always going to be the one to take the blame.

Acta was in his third season with the Indians. He was previously the Washington Nationals manager from 2007-2009. He was also fired in his third season with that club.

Premature Prognostications: October Baseball

September 26th - Premature Prognostications: October Baseball

Well the PP's aren't really premature anymore. Teams have seven or eight games left and four of five playoff spots have been decided in the NL. The AL doesn't have a clincher yet but things look to be pretty stagnant, aside from the Central.

American League

The only change this week is the Orioles are now into the ALDS after defeating the A's in the one gamer. The O's have just been playing better baseball right now. The change subsequently bumps the Tigers into a series with the Yankees. I considered putting the Tigers through but for this week I'll leave the Yankees there. Next week (the final week) I may change my mind.

National League

As mentioned the NL Playoff Bracket is 80% filled. We know the Nationals and Braves have locked up playoff spots in the East (the Braves could mathematically still chase down the Nats for the division). The Reds are the Champs in the Central. The Giants are the Champs of the West. The only thing left to be decided is the new Wild Card Spot where the Cardinals currently hold a 4.5 game edge. Seems pretty reasonable to assume they'll end up winning that spot. The biggest remaining question is who will be the NL's best? The Nats and Reds have an identical record (93-61).

World Series

Again, no changes. Five straight weeks I've taken the Reds over Rangers in 7.

Premature Prognostications: October Baseball

September 18th - Premature Prognostications: October Baseball

American League

The AL is losing some of the intrigue it had a few weeks back. It's looking more and more like the A's and Orioles will end up in the Wild Card spots battling for a place in the ALDS. It continues to amaze me that both of these teams are surviving September. There's still time but I'm now a believer in both of them. I haven't been for five and a half months but with a mere 15 and 16 games left it's time to give these teams their due.

The A's are the only change this week in the AL. They push out the Rays who have dropped 6 of 7 to fall 5 games back with 15 to play. The A's will also win the one gamer against the Orioles which pushes the Tigers into the series with the Rangers. The A's have, so far, survived a brutal September and if they hold on into next week I may give them the nod over the Yankees in the ALDS. I can't do it yet, but I may.

Despite the Tigers sitting 3 games back of the White Sox I continue to give them the nod in the Central. My reasoning is simple: the Tigers are the better team. No what the records indicate the Tigers are better. Believe it. However easing my decision is the schedule for both teams. The Tigers do battle the A's this week which will be tough. After those three games though the Tigers finish with six against the Twins and seven against the Royals. The White Sox still need to make a trip out west to play the Angels and still have a series against the Rays. Both teams are fighting for their lives which could make a challenging few games for the Sox.

National League

There a lot of teams suddenly in the race in the NL Wild Card prompting many to complain about the second Wild Card rewarding mediocrity (I voiced my opinion on that here). However nothing has changed for the second straight week in my NL bracket.

The Braves are locked into the first WC 7.5 up on the Cardinals who hold the second spot. Throwing their names into contention are the Dodgers (-1.0), Pirates (-2.5), Brewers (-2.5), Phillies (-3.5), Diamondbacks (-4.5) and even the Padres have made a run (-6).

Despite all the new teams who have a realistic shot I still think it's down to two teams: Cardinals and Dodgers. For the Dodgers sake they better win the WC after their addition of $250 million + in salary from the Red Sox a few weeks ago. I don't think they will though.

The Dodgers have a tough schedule to close out. They have a series against each of the NL Divisional leaders (Nationals, Reds and Giants). They also play the Padres who, as mentioned, are suddenly in "contention" themselves. The easiest series they have remaining is against the Rockies.

The Cardinals however nine games remaining against AL Central cellar dwellers in the Astros and Cubs. They do play the Nats and Reds as well to be fair. However those nine "easy" games give the defending champs the leg up.

World Series

My prediction remains unchanged, yet again. I know boring.

Reds over Rangers in 7.

NL Wildcard; Surprising Teams Making a Push

Two teams that made the Playoffs in 2011 are making a surprising surge for the second Wild Card spot. 

Don't look now but the Philadelphia Phillies and Milwaukee Brewers are both sitting at 72-71 and find themselves 3 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals for that, new, second Wild Card spot. The Phillies have won 7 straight and 8 of 10 while the Brewers have won 3 straight and 7 of 10.

Both teams appeared to be an afterthought this season after they both won their respective divisions in 2011 (they both lost to the eventual World Champion Cardinals). On August 1st the Brewers were 11 games back of the Wild Card while the Phillies were 12 games back.

Now here we are on September 13th and both teams enter play with a realistic shot to advance to the one game playoff for the right to enter the NLDS. But can they do it?

Never mind that. Here's the real interesting story.

Bud Selig has accomplished exactly what he set out to do and that's create more playoff excitement in more cities for a longer period of time. If there was only the one Wild Card spot available the Atlanta Braves would hold it and have an 8.5 game lead over both teams with 19 games to play. It seems as though that lead would be a little bit more difficult to overcome at this point. So give Bud some credit there. Fans in Milwaukee and Philadelphia are getting a little September magic and even if their teams fall short of the Wild Card it's certainly more interesting to watch when there's something on the line (never mind the fact that both teams have been under .500 for the majority of the season and are still just .500 clubs now).

Here's my quarrel with the whole situation - and has always been my worry ever since the second Wild Card was announced - suppose the Phillies or Brewers do win that second spot and end up beating the Braves in the one gamer. Then what have we learned? Aside from the fact that MLB has created an artificially dramatic one game playoff in an effort to recapture the magical end to the 2011 season it is rewarding mediocrity. A one game playoff is an absolute crapshoot. The Braves who have been the far superior team all season long now have to face an added, inferior, obstacle in order to advance to the playoffs. Yet it is entirely possible that they could lose.

It seems to me that this system is in theory a great idea but in practice is problematic.

If you look at the AL it is working like a dream. Two games separate the Orioles/Yankees and leading A's. Out of those teams it's likely one will win the AL East and the other two will take the Wild Card spots. Fantastic. Both teams deserve to there they've had great seasons. In the old system one would obviously miss the playoffs in an heartbreaking end to their season. At least now they'll have one final shot to really make the playoffs. That's the good.

On the NL side you could potentially have a 90 win team (the Braves) facing off against a team that's floating around the .500 mark. The Braves clearly deserve to be in the playoffs. The team floating around the .500 mark, um, not so much. Yet here we are with the realistic possibility that the Braves could find themselves on the outside looking in at a team that should never even come close to making the playoffs but did because of the added Wild Card. To me, that's the bad.

I want the best teams in the playoffs. I want a team that's grinded out the best record over the 162 game schedule (or at least the second best record if we're talking Wild Card). Otherwise what's the point of the season? I don't want the team that had a great run in the final two weeks and just pushed their record above .500. Despite that they're still a mediocre team at best.

If we just want a dramatic finish let's just forget the whole season and just pit every team against each other in an NCAA March Madness style playoff.

The 162 game schedule is in place to weed out the pretenders from the true contenders, is it not? I guess not anymore.

In theory the added Wild Card is a fantastic way to allow more franchises an opportunity to compete and offers fans exciting, meaningful and quality baseball until the very end. In practice it rewards the undeserving and does little more than provide additional revenue.

Premature Prognostications: October Baseball

September 10th - Premature Prognostications: October Baseball

American League

How about the American League. There are four teams (A's, Orioles, Rays and Angels) all within two and a half games of the two Wild Card spots. It's conceivable that there could be a three, or even four, way tie for the Wild Card. That would definitely add some excitement to the already artificially created excitement of the one game playoff.

Currently the A's hold the top spot (1.5 up on the Orioles) and were a part of last week's bracket. Unfortunately for them, despite their current lead, they've been dropped in this week's bracket in favor of the Rays. The reason is simple, the A's have a very tough schedule the rest of the way. Their remaining games come against the Angels (4), Rangers (7), Orioles (3), Tigers (3), Yankees (3) and Mariners (3). The weakest team on that list is the Mariners ... and even they've been playing pretty good baseball since the All-Star Break. The other three teams in the Wild Card battle have much easier schedules. The Rays have nine games against the Blue Jays and Red Sox while the Orioles have 10 games against those same teams. The Angels have a similar schedule to the A's but they get a bit of a break in playing the Royals for three.

The Rays enter the bracket as the second WC and win the one gamer against division rival Orioles. Because the Rays are the new team into the ALDS the Rays face off against the top team in the AL (Rangers) and bump the Tigers down to face the Yankees.

My justification for continuing to leave the Tigers in as the division winners in the Central is their easier schedule down the stretch. They have 16 games against the Indians, Twins and Royals. They also play four against the team they are chasing, the White Sox, and also battle the A's. The White Sox meanwhile play the Angels and Rays in addition to the Tigers. 

National League

The NL is much more boring in comparison. The only change is the Nationals retaking 1st place in the NL back from the Reds.

World Series

The World Series also remains the same, Reds over Rangers in 7.

It's Official, Nationals Shut Down Ace

SP Stephen Strasburg has been shut down for the remainder of the season

In a move that has long been rumored, discussed, confirmed and debated far and wide across Major League Baseball by fans and analysts alike the Nationals announced Saturday that Stephen Strasburg is done for the season. It's a move the Nationals have maintained they would make all along to protect their young ace returned from Tommy John surgery.

Many people acted as though the decision would be incredulous if and when the Nationals made it. That time has arrived.

Sitting pretty in first place in the NL East, a position they've held for the majority of the season, the Nationals will now have to survive the remainder of the season and the entire playoffs without their best pitcher. The Nationals have a prime opportunity to compete for a World Series Championship and they are willingly taking, arguably, their best player off the roster.

Currently they Nationals own the best record in baseball (85-53) and own a 6.5 game lead over the Braves. So suffice it to say their is talent elsewhere on the roster and an extended playoff run isn't impossible, or even improbable. However without Straburg it's going to become a little more difficult.

The Nationals need only look at last years Champion St. Louis Cardinals for inspiration. Last season they lost their best pitcher, Adam Wainwright, to Tommy John in Spring Training. We all know how their season turned out.

Could The Impossible Happen?

Yankees find themselves battling for Playoff Lives

On July 18th everything was great in Yankee land. The Bombers held a 10.0 game lead over all of their AL East rivals. Even sweeter was the fact that arch rival Boston was beginning to crumble from every inch of the organization. The Red Sox had already traded fan favorite Kevin Youkilis to the White Sox. Rumors of Bobby Valentine's (eventual) dismissal were beginning to surface. About a week later the Red Sox players held a coup - in New York during a series with the Yankees no less - to get Valentine fired. Mostly notable of those players, depending on which reports you read, was Adrian Gonzalez. At the end of August Gonzalez along with Carl Crawford and Josh Beckett (and Nick Punto to be exact but no one cares about him) were sent packing to Los Angeles.

The biggest threat to the Yankees, back on July 18th, was the Baltimore Orioles who happened to be the team that was 10 back. At the time Yankee fans were probably celebrating what they thought to be an inevitable division championship. I mean it was the Orioles and they were 10 back. No hope, done deal. Might as well give them the banner now, right?

Wrong.

The Orioles have done the remarkable. Entering play on Wednesday September 5th the Yankees find themselves in a tie for first in the AL East with those pesky birds.

Yes the season still has three weeks to play and the Yankees could once again reclaim a lead in the East. At the same time they may not.

I can't imagine many people expected the Orioles to be in this position. Even the most devout O's fan must have looked at that 10 game deficit in July and thought, "hey at least we're having a good season and maybe we'll snag a Wild Card". At that time the Orioles were 47-44 and a half game out of the second Wild Card. They'd gone 3-7 in the last ten games and appeared to be fading. It was the Orioles so of course they had to fade. They had to come back down to Earth. There was no way the Orioles could legitimately be in the playoff race, could they?

Well here we are, it's September and yes they are very much alive. The team that shouldn't be tied with the mighty Bronx Bombers somehow is.

But the Orioles can't be the Yankees only concern right now. The Tampa Bay Rays are also knocking on the door, sitting a game and a half back in the East. Not to mention the whole slew of teams that are positioning themselves in other divisional races and are likely going to be in on the battle for those Wild Card spots. We could be looking at as many as 8 teams fighting for the 5 playoff spots. The Yankees, Orioles and Rays in the East, the White Sox and Tigers in the Central and the Rangers, A's and Angels in the West. Someone is going to have to give.

But could that be the Yankees? Is it possible that a team that appeared to have secured a playoff spot in mid-July is somehow going to be on the outside looking in?

At the time the Yankees 10 game lead was almost double that of the next closest division leaders lead (Texas had 5.5 on the Angels). The 5 other division leaders at the time were Chicago White Sox, Texas, Washington, Cincinnati and San Fransisco. Now go look at today's standings (go on, I'll wait) ...

Do you notice what I noticed. Yes, that's right all five of those teams are still in the lead of their respective divisions (sole possession I might add).

Almost two months ago it seemed inconceivable that the Yankees wouldn't win the division. Now it becomes a reasonable suggestion.

Fortunately for New York the remaining schedule is quite tame. Aside from an upcoming, 4 game, weekend battle with the O's the Yankees face off against the likes of Toronto, Boston and Minnesota.

If the Yankees lose the division (and maybe even miss the playoffs) they'll only have themselves to blame.

It's hard to believe but the Baltimore Orioles could be AL East Champions for the first time in 15 years. Even harder to believe is the fact that the Yankees could miss the playoffs entirely. A notion that just might ease some of the pain in Boston.

Pirates Jersey Gaffe

Pirates 2B Brock Holt sporting a jersey with the number on the wrong side

Steve Berthiaume was the first to notice the error and posted the above picture on Twitter. The number two should be on the opposite side of the jersey (the left hand side for the player, right hand side for those viewing it, see picture below). The Pirates are hosting the Astros this afternoon.

Pirates CF Andrew McCutchen with his number in the correct place

It's quite amazing how many players have been sent onto the field recently with jersey errors. I can think of at least four off the top of my head in the last few seasons. It's hard to believe so many mistakes are not only being made but missed.

Can you recall an NFL, NHL or NBA player suffering from this same problem? I certainly don't recall it. I mean I could be wrong but it seems to be a problem that MLB has been faced with a lot lately.

Majestic better get it together or they might find themselves no longer the official provider of MLB jerseys.

Premature Prognostications: October Baseball

September 2nd - Premature Prognostications: October Baseball

American League

CHANGES! CHANGES GLORE!

That's right folks there's a whole slew of new teams in the PP's! It's September and we are inching ever closer to October Baseball and it is getting harder and harder to deny certain teams (cough, Orioles) a spot in the bracket. So I've caved and the Orioles are making their first appearance on the PP's. You know this can only mean one thing ... they'll now collapse.

Also around the American League the A's have jumped into the second Wild Card spot. They've been out for three weeks but have returned. Their play never really dropped off and they were never that far out. I just figured other teams were capable of chasing them down (I'm looking at you, Angels). But once again, just like the O's, their presence can no longer be ignored.

Another change in the bracket has seen the Tigers move out of a Wild Card spot and into the AL Central Division winners spot. The Tigers have been in the bracket five of seven weeks but this is the first time since July 28th they've been in as the division winner.

As such the White Sox had to be bumped. They've been in the bracket as the AL Central winners for five straight weeks. Also bumped were the Tampa Bay Rays. They've cooled off recently and find themselves 1.5 back in the WC.

No changes in the winners of the ALDS as the Yankees and Rangers are still the toast of the AL.

National League

CHANGES!

Not quite as many as the AL but there has been some notable movement in the NL as well.

First off I have to apologize to the Cincinnati Reds. I've had them in the World Series six of seven weeks but have always had them second in the NL to the Nationals. That changes this week for the first time. It's something I may have overlooked or it may have been something I did deliberately. Either way looking at it I couldn't believe that I had never put the Reds on top of the NL. That has been corrected and the Nationals have lost their top spot for the first time. Now on to the rest of the PP's.

Welcome back to the San Fransisco Giants. Their two week absence was in large part because of the Melky Cabrera suspension and the Dodgers massive trade. However they currently find themselves 4.5 games up on those same Dodgers and as such make their return.

The rest of the NL Bracket remains the same save for the Nationals once again pushing through to the NLCS. I'm sorry I got a little excited last week with the Dodgers trade and in that excitement I pushed them in the NLCS instead of the Nationals ... my apologies.

World Series

NO CHANGES!

I guess that's not nearly as exciting as changes.

Reds over Rangers in 7, still.