The PI Sports Page

Written by: Ski

Welcome to the PI Sports Page, where I'll offer my thoughts on what's happening in the world of sports. As you can probably tell, September is quickly approaching. If you know even just a little bit about baseball, you know what that means.

The playoffs will soon be here.

With 30 teams and eight spots, you can bet that any team that has a chance is going to take it. While no team has a playoff spot for sure, some teams have a firm grip on their division. However, most teams are playing hard to keep their leads safe, or to sneak up on rivals. This week, I'm going to cover the American League contenders.

I'm going to start off with what is likely the most hotly contested division this season, namely the West. The West really only has two teams with a chance - these being the L.A. Angels and the Oakland A's. Here we have two teams that have been neck and neck for the last month. At the time of writing, Oakland was two games behind. However, I'm going to pick the A's to win this division. While their "hot streak" has died down, they have great pitching from the likes of Barry Zito. While Oakland's offense isn't anything special, it is consistent enough to help their pitchers win games. I think the Angels will put up a good fight, but just miss out.

Next up is the Central Division. The Cleveland Indians and Minnesota Twins are decent teams, but they would need to work incredibly hard to catch the White Sox, who lead by ten and a half games. Chicago has been in a slump lately, but that doesn't mean they don't know it. As Sox ace Mark Buerhle put it, "We've been playing like crap." Even with their recent dismal performance, I think they'll get over it and keep their A.L. Central grip.

Now to a division with more Sox; the Red Sox, to be exact. The A.L. East is another division that baseball fans have been watching. Currently, the Boston team has a four and a half game lead on the New York Yankees. The Yankees can still make a run for the division, and with six games left against the BoSox, they have potential. The big thing for New York is keeping their pitchers healthy. While they have done well with 14 different starters over the year, they can't take any more chances. I think that the Yankees will make a run, but fall short in the games against Boston.

As for the Wild Card team? I'd have to say New York. They're a game back as of writing, and they seem to be on the move lately. It will be a tight race with L.A. and Cleveland in the mix, but I think that the Yankees can and will emerge triumphant.

Well, that's it for my first ever PI Sports Page. Next week, I'll cover the National League. You may not agree with my decisions, and that's alright. In fact, I'd like a few people to disagree.

If you have a comment, question, or complaint, you can send a PM to Ski at the PPT Forums.