2008 Woodie Awards
Countdown to the playoffs
Sean Connington
Issue date: 9/14/06 Section: Sports
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If you were to tell a Red Sox fan only a month ago that there team would in all probability not be making the playoffs this season, they would tell you that your crazy. However after a five game sweep at Fenway Park by the hated New York Yankees, things have just gone down hill for the Sox. Injuries have sidelined their two sluggers in David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez, and they are now nine and a half games behind the Yankees in the American league East. The Yankees, who at the beginning of the season were in the exact shoes as the sox now, find themselves in line for a ninth consecutive division title. Yet baseball fans would tell you to never count Boston out.
Minnesota and Chicago are going to have some tough battles ahead of them, and will have to play great baseball in order to get into the playoffs. The Twins will rely on great pitching from their ace Johan Santana, while Chicago's powerful lineup will have to put up some big numbers in September. The 2005 reigning World Champion Chicago White Sox have played great baseball all season but still may not make he playoffs. They compete in the same division as the Detroit Tigers, the team with the best record in baseball. The Tigers, who are loaded with great young pitching, have a American league Central division title in sight. The Tigers have played great baseball all season continuing to win.
Back in early April, a pitcher with surprising upside, but who was considered a longshot to contribute this season was pitcher Justin Verlander. Not only has he contributed this year, he has established himself as the Tigers future ace for at least the next twelve years. He will make a splash in the Rookie of the Year voting, as will Twins rookie Fransisco Liriano.
Part of the reason why good teams such as the White Sox, Twins, and Angels are having trouble finding a spot in the playoffs may be due to the highly talented American League. The American League is packed with great teams, and with another all-star game victory they prove to be a more dominating League than the National League. The American League simply has much more talent. With the exception of the New York Mets National League teams are outmatched.
" It's going to be and interesting playoffs. Everybody knows that the AL is stacked, but the American League teams might wear each other out just trying to get to the World Series," said Michael Coppollo who is a junior New York native. "A team like the Mets could coast through the playoffs playing non-competitive teams in each round, and be fresh to play a tired American league team."
The countdown to the playoffs has begun. The chance for an American league team such as the White Sox and Twins are still up in the air. It's almost October and baseball fans across America are salivating for a taste of the post season. It will be interesting to see how September plays out, but everybody knows when the playoffs start anything can happen.
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