Things to do in Denver When You're Dead

(And now, the ceremonial 'Augh' at Jordan's realization that the Cardinals are, indeed, back in the playoff race)

AAAUUUUUUGHHH.

I understand that pretty much anyone left in the Wild Race is essentially competing to be Arizona's bitch, but...the St. Louis Cardinals, after lapping the Brewers, despite ignoring EVERY SINGLE SIGN that they're not really supposed to be competing this season, are scooching up on the Rockies for that last spot. And...I...no. Just no. This shouldn't be a thing we have to talk about in September. The Cardinals aren't a playoff team, they were just selling pitchers. We don't need to go through another year of this.

Besides, the Rockies have had a better all-around season, always volleying for some piece of the NL West hierarchy, and having a consistently solid year, with great pitching and a solid lineup. Plus, the Rockies used the deadline to strengthen the team, picking up Jonathan Lucroy as a solid catching option, replacing the inefficient Tony Wolters. Plus, with the seasons that Nolan Arenado, Charlie Blackmon and DJ LeMaiheu are having, they have every right to be there.

What the Brewers need to do in this last stretch of the season is cement their status as a playoff team, and defend their spot from anyone who's trying to take it away from them, even those pesky Cardinals.

Coming Tomorrow- Stealing? What stealing? Let's instead talk about their newly-acquired and streaking infielder.

Stronger Than the Storm

(As a New Jersey resident, you have no idea how badly i had to cringe in order to make that the title.)

We cannot ignore how horrible the hurricane in Houston was last week. Even baseball noticed the destruction, as a few Astros games had to take place in Tampa, until everything boiled over. There was talk of the storm trying to kill the feel-good story of the unstoppable Astros. And yes, since their unstoppable start to the season, the Astros have cooled down a bit, losing a few too many matches, and coming down from the high horse, now at 85 wins, as the Indians try to catch up to them for the first seed.

The pitching in Houston may be what separates them from the pack. In addition from Cy-caliber Dallas Keuchel, a surprising breakout from Brad Peacock, and the astonishing returns of Lance McCullers and Collin McHugh...Justin Verlander is now pitching for the Astros, and last night he had a phenomenal debut performance. Even with mega-rotations like Cleveland and New York showing up on the horizon, the Astros look like they're gonna do their damnedest to hang onto that seed.

The lineup's not worrying me either. Springer and Correa are healthy, Altuve's still on his way to an MVP, Reddick and Bregman are still hot, and the bench is pretty nice. Plus, Ken Giles finally gets to close games for a competing team, which I couldn't be prouder of.

So yeah...the Astros have strapped in for the last bit of this season, and I couldn't be more excited.

Coming Tonight: Improving catcher, now playing for a potential Wild Card team.

Milwaukee Pulls the Walker Lever

(Whatever, at least I get my references.)

The race is still on for the final Wild Card spot, and while the Rockies seem to have a hand on it, the Brewers cannot be counted out. With the insane pitching from Chase Anderson, Jimmy Nelson and Zach Davies, and some star turns from Orlando Arcia, Domingo Santana and Travis Shaw, the team that everyone counted out is shaping up to make one last stab at glory.

Part of the reason why they're fighting is the addition of Neil Walker to take over for a slumping Jonathan Villar, and he's been an improvement. Not only does he not have to play in Queens anymore, but he's a sharp bat, picking up where he left off in Pittsburgh, and he fits into a cohesive, building infield that could use some veteran leadership.

The problem I'm seeing is that the Rockies may stand still in the next few weeks, and not let the Brewers even think about taking the wild card spot. But still, they've come a very long way as a team, and are definitely back on the upswing.

Coming Tomorrow- An oddly-named pitcher for those red-hot Astros

Streaking with Bruce

Thirteen wins in a row. Which means everyone who earlier on thought 'uh, maybe they're not a playoff team this year' is looking mighty foolish.

It's not the kind of thing that happened overnight. The Indians' season was building from the moment it started, even if it took them a while to get past the Twins to secure 1st place. And then slowly, those Indians that made the playoffs so fun to watch last year began to appear. Jose Ramirez was playing better than he ever had. Carlos Santana started hitting home runs. Corey Kluber started throwing smoke like he did in the playoffs. Even Trevor Bauer was having a nice season, and when that's happening, you know something special's going on.

It must be mentioned the presence of acquisitions in Cleveland, such as the appearance of Jay Bruce in that lineup, because he's been playing brilliantly. The presence of Joe Smith in the bullpen is also helping the fans grieve the loss of Andrew Miller for the next few weeks. But the main thing to get from this is that the Indians had enough in the tank before July 31st that the guys leading the charge right now were there all along. They didn't need many trade deadline deals or waiver deals, because they were already in some pretty pristine shape.

When your team has SEVEN viable options for starting pitchers...and this is a month before the playoffs start, you know they're preparing for something big. I mean, of course they are. This is a Terry Francona team. That guy knows how to get to the postseason. He knows how to make teams win, even if they hadn't in decades. The guy has built a franchise that can last, that can consistently make it far. And that is dangerous, especially in a league that has a few fading division leaders, and one big chess piece the Tribe knows they need to take out.

I'm saying the Indians could repeat. I'm also saying they could win it all. But it's up to them as to how far they can take it this year.

Coming Tonight: Another guy who got out of Queens, this one doing pretty well for a Wild Card fighting team.

Dee-Lite

Welp, once again, it's looking like the mantle of 'best team to miss the playoffs' might be going to the Miami Marlins. Even with the best hitters in the game, even with some pretty impressive young pitchers, even with a roster that'd even improved itself after a solid 2016, the Marlins are buried deep enough beneath Washington that their Wild Card chances are quite slim.

And it's sad, because the Marlins actually have a ton more promise than a lot of the teams in front of them in the standings (especially those bloody Cardinals). But the WC race seems to be relatively decided, with the Diamondbacks holding onto that first spot like a life preserver, and the Rockies and Brewers volleying for the second spot. Pretty much everyone else in the race hasn't a chance, which is a shame, as the Marlins have some great stories cooking.

Giancarlo Stanton has 53 home runs, and is chasing Maris like nobody who hasn't taken steroids ever has. Marcell Ozuna's making a case for consistent legitimacy, with another 30+ home run season. Dan Straily is taking full advantage of his second chance, hedging out injured players to become the team's ace, followed by converted-starter Jose Urena. Even Dee Gordon has learned to emphasize hits over homers, and is slowly building his redemption arc after last season. Plus, they just brought up this kid Dillon Peters, and he had a phenomenal debut, with 8 strikeouts and no earned runs. Maybe he could be the future ace?

Bottom line is the Marlins are far from a low-end team. They just got thrown back thanks to injuries, and a ton of Nationals wins. But, like last year, I still think they can become great very soon.

Coming Tonight: One of two consecutive customs of guys that got out of Queens, New York. This guy gets to play for a team that's gonna be frigging terrifying in the playoffs.

Third-Wheeling

Right now in the AL East, you have the Red Sox and Yankees quarreling, trying to figure out whose year it is, wrestling back and forth for all to see. And quietly, in the background, the Orioles are going 'hey, we're trying to compete too'.

And yes, this has been the month of the killer B's- Dylan Bundy pitching strikeouts, Zach Britton and Brad Brach late in the came, and Tim Beckham hitting home runs whenever he can. But the rest of the team has been...alright. People are doing well in the lineup, but there's still a ton of strikeouts. The pitching is still a problem, and it's not sure when it WON'T be for this team. Plus, they're far enough behind both teams in the rivalry that it's hard to see them making the Wild Card game.

...they're gonna try, though. Right now, the O's are behind the Angels in line for the 2nd spot, which the Twins currently have. The Rangers and Rays are a game or so behind them, so while seeing them in the playoffs isn't ENTIRELY out of the question, it only happens if the Angels AND Twins completely lose momentum in the next 30 days, AND the O's keep theirs going. A lot of moving parts need to be with them in order for this to work. I'm not sure if they're gonna get all of that.

Still, I do appreciate that the Orioles were better than just a hapless team by the end, and managed to improve themselves as the season went on. Sad it didn't work out as well as it usually does.

Coming Tonight: Son of a Kansas City legend, hitting them high in Miami.

Yet Another Padres Custom

...I really don't have anything to say, other than 'thank god we've got a month left of the regular season. Making Padres customs is tough, especially when nobody's playing well enough to deserve one.

Coming Tomorrow- Best closer in baseball, finally getting back to what he does best.