Over three quarters of the baseball season has been played and when the calendar flips to September expect some exciting American League pennant races to go down to the wire.

While no teams have been mathematically eliminated, only six AL teams still have a greater than 10% chance of making it to the playoffs according to www.coolstandings.com.

Since only four teams make the playoffs we should see some tight series as teams grind it out and the schedule rounds third and heads for home. Here’s the rundown of the remaining teams vying for a post-season spot.

AL East:

Competitors and their Playoff Chances:

New York Yankees: 93.8%

Tampa Bay Rays: 93.3%

Boston Red Sox: 10.5%

Stretch Run Outlook:

Although the Red Sox still have a little greater than 10% chance of making the playoffs, it is looking more and more certain that they will be spending October at home for the first time since 2006. If you were to pick a random player from the Red Sox opening day roster, you would more than likely choose someone who has spent time on the DL this year.

Currently, the list of injured Red Sox includes Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury. The injuries, coupled with the ineffectiveness of Josh Beckett and John Lackey have essentially killed the Red Sox playoff hopes. While they still have a chance to get in, they picked up Detroit Tigers player Johnny Damon on waivers today hoping to increase their chances. Besides Damon, they would have to use a cast including several replacement players to get through the two strongest teams in baseball.

As you can see from the playoff odds, both the Rays and Yankees are likely to make the playoffs this year. The Yankees currently have a one game lead in the division and the Rays lead the Wild Card race by 5.5 games (over the Red Sox). The Chicago White Sox are the only non division leading AL East team that is even within 10 games of the Rays.

On the year, the Yankees have the best run-differential in all of baseball (followed closely by the Rays) and are leading the majors in runs scored. The Yanks are third in the AL in fewest runs allowed, so the pitching hasn’t been too shabby either.

The Rays on the other hand, have allowed the fewest runs while pushing the third most across the plate.

Over the rest of the season, the Yankees and Rays meet seven more times (four of them at Yankee Stadium), which could play a huge part in deciding who wins the division and who takes the Wild Card. The Rays currently hold the advantage between the two teams, with a 6-5 record and +1 run differential in 11 games against the Yankees.

While it probably won’t matter who wins the division and who takes the Wild Card (both teams will likely be the favorites to advance to the ALCS), I would put my money on the Yankees at this point. Although the return of Jeff Neimann will help, I think the Rays would have benefited from leaving Jeremy Hellickson in the starting rotation instead of Wade Davis.

AL Central:

Competitors and their Playoff Chances:

Minnesota Twins: 88.2%

Chicago White Sox: 13.5%

Stretch Run Outlook:

The Central originally looked like a three team race, but the Detroit Tigers have collapsed leaving the White Sox and Twins to battle for the Division.

Just 12 days ago on August 11^th, the Twins and White Sox were actually tied atop the division, but a Chicago cold streak and Minnesota hot streak have allowed the Twins to open up a five game lead over the White Sox.

Going forward, I just don’t see the White Sox catching the Twins. So far, the Twins have scored more runs and allowed fewer than the White Sox. The Twins also have a much larger group of players on the DL and will only get even stronger from here on out (especially when Justin Morneau returns).

The two teams face off only three times over the remainder of the season, which could be considered a positive or negative for the White Sox. The easiest way to make up ground is by playing head-to-head, but the White Sox are only 5-10 against the Twins so far this year, and might only stand to lose more if they played more often.

Although the White Sox have some hitters (specifically Alexei Ramirez and Gordon Beckham) who have stepped up in the second half, they will struggle to play better than the more complete Twins team.

AL West:

Competitors and their Playoff Chances:

Texas Rangers: 92.4%

Both the Los Angeles Angels and Oakland Athletics have less than a five percent chance of making the playoffs, so the AL West doesn’t appear to be much of a race down the stretch. The Rangers have played the worst baseball (.561 winning percentage) of any division leader (they actually have only the fifth best record in the American League) yet still hold an eight game division lead. Thus far the Rangers have split the season series (6-6) with Oakland and hold a slight edge over (7-5) over Los Angeles so unless something drastic changes in the division, the Rangers should be coasting toward October and getting set to play the Wild Card winner.

Used with permission of the author.

 Along with contributing to Sports Climax, Brett Kettyle is the Atlanta Braves Community Leader on Bleacher Report and maintains a Braves column for MTR Media. Follow Brett on Twitter.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

The Dodgers were swept in three games by the Red Sox, with the final nail in the proverbial coffin being a 2-0 loss last night in Fenway.  They now sit in third place in the NL West, behind the Padres and Giants As if that wasn’t bad enough, the schedule only gets more difficult: a Freeway Series rematch with the Angels (who swept them just over a week ago) in Anaheim. 

After that, the Dodgers welcome the World Champion Yankees to Chavez Ravine for the first time since 2004.  It will also be the first time that manager Joe Torre will face his former team since departing New York after the 2007 season.

And to top it all off, the Dodgers will then face their rivals, the now second-place Giants. a team whose pitchers have allowed opponents to hit a league-best .230 against them.

So what’s happened to the once-hot Dodgers?

First, their pitching, which was hot in May (with a 20-8 record) has cooled off (just 9-9 so far in June).  Rookie John Ely, who was a nice shot in the arm in May, has now cooled off.  He is 0-2 with a 6.23 ERA in June, and has allowed 6 home runs and 10 walks this month.  This is up significantly from the no home runs and 6 walks he had allowed through May.

A second problem has been injuries.  Chad Billingsley and Carlos Monasterios, two starters who helped the team during their hot stretch in May, are now both on the 15-day disabled list – the former with a groin strain and the latter with a blister on his finger.  This has not helped an already-thin starting rotation.

Finally, the Dodgers bats have suddenly gone quiet.  They have scored just eleven runs in their last four games, and batted just .194 (19-for-98) in the three games in Boston.  RF Andre Ethier has also cooled off – since coming off the DL, he has hit only one home run.  He is only batting .208 in June, lowering his overall batting average to .318 (down from .380 through May).

If the Dodgers can manage to stay above water for the rest of the month, things could get better.  They face the last-place Diamondbacks the first weekend in July, and also meet up with the Giants and Padres later in the month.  They are 18-5 against the NL West this season, which could help turn things around.

Re-printed with permission of the author.

Chris Lardieri covers the Los Angeles Dodgers for Examiner.com and has written about Major League Baseball for Inside Edge, a scouting company that provides content to ESPN Insider and Yahoo Sports. He previously wrote for 1766, the Rutgers Alumni Magazine, and popular blog, ‘The Outer Loop’.  Be sure to follow Chris on Twitter for more MLB and sports observations.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

LAKELAND, Fla. – It’s finally official; Johnny Damon is a Detroit Tiger.

After reports first surfaced this weekend on SI.com on Saturday night that Damon had signed a one year deal for approximately $8 million with the Detroit Tigers pending a physical, Tigers’ GM Dave Dombrowski told MLB.com that “significant progress” had been made in talks with Damon but he could not confirm a signing.

Today, in a press conference held at the Tigers’ spring training facility in Lakeland, Florida, Damon was officially presented as the newest Tiger.

The 36-year-old outfielder has an impressive resume that includes being a part of two World Series winning teams, the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees.

A two-time American League All-Star, Damon hit 24 home runs and drove in 82 runs for the Yankees last year and since 2007 has batted .325 at Comerica Park.

Over the past couple of weeks, rumors were flying that the Atlanta Braves had thrown a hat into the ring along with the Tampa Bay Rays and Chicago White Sox. Both Atlanta and Detroit hold spring training in Florida near Damon’s Orlando area home so they were the front-runners when the bidding began.

According to MLB.com reports, when the Braves learned Damon was interested in the team, he was offered a one year contract that included deferred funds. However, according to one MLB.com report, the Braves made the offer “with an understanding that they would likely be outbid by the Tigers or another Major League club.”

Other reports surfaced that Damon’s wife wanted to go to Chicago. During today’s press conference when Damon was introduced and given a Detroit Tigers No. 18 uniform, he said repeatedly that Detroit was where he and his family wanted to be.

He also warned that talk that his wife did not want to go to Detroit was untrue and that if the quotes did not come directly from him or his wife, then they probably were not true.

“This is where I wanted to be. Detroit is the team I wanted to play with. It finally worked out, “said Damon.

In addition to writing her Chicago Cubs column for Examiner.com, Miriam Romain has been published in several Cubs annuals by Maple Street Press and is a contributor to SportsClimax.com . She is also writing a book with the working title “Summers at Wrigley with my Dad.”

Copyright © 2010 – Sports Climax™

BEANTOWN – Some Red Sox fans miss history

The Tampa Bay Rays blew a 7-0 lead and allowed the Red Sox to score 8 runs in the last three innings for a record-setting, 8-7 dramatic comeback.

And how pissed off are the fans we saw heading to their cars during the seventh inning stretch and their team down 7-0?

Fans in every city criticize the fans in their rival cities for not being loyal enough and jumping on the bandwagon, but when it comes down to it, we all have a game we regret leaving early.

Mine is last week’s Atlanta Falcon game against the Bears when the game was “certainly over” with only 11 seconds left. The Bears had just put together the best drive of their year and went ahead 20-19.

With a rookie QB Matt Ryan in the driver’s seat and only 11 seconds left, you may as well put this one in the books . . . unless of course Lovie Smith calls for a squib kick, the rookie QB throws a perfect 30-yard sideline strike to a WR who makes a tip-toe reception with just 1 second left on the clock then a kicker splits the uprights with a 48 yarder to win the game 22-20 with no time on the clock.

Two sayings fit this scenario, “It isn’t over ’til the Fat Lady sings” and “Misery loves company?” Well my company was all those dumb-ass Red Sox fans who will regret throwing in the towel too early and missing the greatest comeback in MLB history.

Who will win this MLB series? Vote on our homepage.

Bob Uecker Seats in Tampa

The Tampa Bay Rays announced they will remove the tarp covering their “Bob Uecker” seats in the highest point of the upper deck of Tropicana Field. This opens the area for an additional 5,762 “jump-on-the-bandwagon” Rays fans for Game 6 of the AL Championship or Game.

According to a team’s spokesman, some of the seats are obstructed-view and some don’t have seatbacks.

Copyright © 2008 – Sports Climax