None of baseball's certain playoff entrants are playing great except the win-a-day Yankees now. The powerful Cardinals have slowed to a crawl, while the stacked Red Sox and Dodgers, in particular, have appeared to be trying to perfect the art of backing in.
The biggest-market, biggest-spending Yankees just wrapped up the AL East crown and appear to be a threat to steamroll teams in October. The Red Sox, the Yankees' only slightly poorer rivals to the north, are in such fine overall shape that they showed only marginal interest in a series where two wins would have guaranteed a playoff spot, and one would have prevented a Yankees divisional clinch.
The St. Louis Cardinals managed to go an almost unprecedented 4-for-4 with their acquisitions this summer, helping them to run away from their archrival Chicago Cubs in the NL Central. Their hot streak might also have raised the confidence of their front office to extreme heights.
Brewers general manager Doug Melvin is said to be seriously weighing important changes after the talented team's surprisingly mediocre performance this season (74-77 through Tuesday), a year after the Brew Crew's first playoff appearance since 1982. But people familiar with Melvin's current thinking believe that while the GM is likely to hire a third pitching coach since well-respected Mike Maddux departed for Texas a year ago and has all but decided not to give manager Ken Macha a contract extension, Melvin also appears likely not to make the biggest change. That is, Melvin is said by people in the know to be planning for a second year with tough taskmaster Macha at the helm -- a decision that may disappoint some Brewers players.
For most teams, it is time to turn the page on this season. In a few cases, it has been that way for months. But one major advantage to being eliminated early is that there is plenty of extra time to assess one's needs, and several also-ran teams already have begun that process. (Of course on the flip side, more time is likely needed.)
Beyond hard-hitting outfielders Matt Holliday and Jason Bay and superb starter John Lackey, the 2010 free-agent class isn't exactly filled with stars in their prime. Except for the bullpen and designated hitter spot, the class lacks depth. But that doesn't mean it will lack intrigue.
One iconic manager's contract is up at a time there have been occasional rumors of discontent.
Many key personnel who contribute mightily to playoff-bound teams go unheralded and unsung throughout the baseball season. But that doesn't mean they are unimportant. Oftentimes coaches, scouts and typically uncelebrated front-office folks are true behind-the-scenes MVPs. Let's celebrate some of this year's greatest unsung heroes, baseball people who aren't necessarily all that well known to folks outside the sport's inner circle but are nonetheless making vital contributions to their team's success.
There are at least three reasons of varying value going around for why folks shouldn't vote for Twins catcher Joe Mauer for American League MVP. But none of them should distract anyone from the fact that Mauer is having a season for the ages.
John Smoltz, who posted an 8.32 ERA for the Red Sox, has turned his game around since getting to St. Louis and has a 2.65 ERA for the Cardinals. Rafael Betancourt, who was an average reliever for the Indians, didn't allow a run his first 14 outings for the Rockies. Cliff Lee, who pitched well but lost more games than he won with the Indians this year, transformed into an almost-unhittable hurler his first five starts for the Phillies.
The Dodgers' deadline-day acquisition of slugger Jim Thome wasn't as startling or nearly as significant as their pickup a year earlier of Thome's ex-Indians teammate Manny Ramirez, of course. But those who suggest that it is meaningless are misguided. Thome enhances the Dodgers' bench, their psyche and their chances. Optimistically speaking, he also provides a DH option should L.A. reach the World Series.
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