The American League has the same story lines that it has had for the past decade.
The American League East teams dominated pretty much all season long, and the World Series representative for the American League will most likely come from this division once again.
But this comes as no surprise, seeing how in the past decade AL East teams have represented the American League in the World Series seven out of ten times: New York Yankees (4), Boston Red Sox (2) and the Tampa Bay Rays (1). If, surprisingly, a team in this division does not make it to the World Series, the Texas Rangers in the AL West or the Minnesota Twins in the AL Central could be the AL representative.
The Rangers have lead the AL West all season long and currently are 8.5 games ahead of the Oakland Athletics.
This is the largest division lead in the entire Major League.
The Rangers have a legitimate chance of making it all the way to the World Series, especially if they can win a series against the Yankees or the Rays of the AL East.
The Minnesota Twins are the other team set to make a playoff run.
They might not have as strong a roster as the other teams in the AL, but with all star players such as catcher Joe Mauer and Designated Hitter Jim Thome, don’t be surprised if this team wins a playoff series.
The only team that may not have a chance of making it to the post season in the AL is the Chicago White Sox.
They are four games back in their division and ten games back in the Wild Card, so they have some serious work to do. But they are hoping that the addition of all star outfielder Manny Ramirez is just the thing they need to get them into the playoffs.
The National League is a little different then the AL in the sense that there is no dominate division. There are at least two teams in East division that still have a legitimate chance at making the playoffs.
In the National League Central, the Cincinnati Reds are currently in first place. They have been in a tight race with the St Louis Cardinals all season long, but recently the Cardinals have been going down-hill and the Reds have an eight game lead in their division and should easily make the playoffs.
In the NL West, the San Diego Padres lead the division by three games over the San Francisco Giants, and in the NL East the Atlanta Braves hold a three game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies.
So the question is, which of these four teams is left out of the playoffs? I say it will be the San Diego Padres.
No matter what, I’m sure this fall will be one to watch.