Friday, August 21, 2009
Weekend Preview
(Summer Heat, The Summer Game Edition)
Another weekend in summer. Another Yankee-Red Sox series. Of course this series has less resonance than when the two rivals met at Yankee Stadium just two weeks ago. Importance? It's still there from Boston's perspective, as the Rangers are right there with them, battling for the American League's fourth playoff spot. Texas is one game behind entering today's play. Tampa remains on the fringe at four back.
However, it goes without saying that the Yankees don't want to stumble around the Fens this weekend and get swept. But even losing 2 of 3 isn't cause for any consternation or gastrointestinal rumblings.
Boston's bats, so quiet in the last Yankee series, have to come to life in the last few days in Toronto. The Yanks appear to have the pitching advantage in the first two games (Pettitte vs. Penny and Burnett vs. Tazawa), with Boston getting the pitching nod in a great prime time match-up on Sunday: Sabathia vs. Beckett. A potential Game 1 ALCS preview right there.
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Other series of note for the weekend:
Texas @ Tampa. Wild Card contestants #2 and #3 at the moment. I keep waiting for Tampa to make that one great stand, that one big winning streak to catapult them to the top of the Wild Card standings . . . but it just doesn't come. A series loss here at home to the Rangers would be telling.
Giants @ Rockies. Who would've thought a couple months into the season that a late August series between San Fran and Colorado would be the premier N.L. match-up of a given weekend? With the Dodgers seemingly just going through the motions in these Dog Days, the Rockies (winners of four in a row, 7-3 in their last 10) are within 3.5 games of Los Angeles. And the Giants are only two behind them. With the Cubs' August swoon, these two N.L. West teams have become the front-runners in the Wild Card race, with Florida & Atlanta remaining just far enough above mediocrity to remain players.
The Rockies upcoming stretch includes this four-game wrap-around series hosting the Giants, then home vs. the Dodgers for three, then three next weekend at San Francisco. After that (which kicks off their September schedule): a manageable homestand featuring the Mets, D-Backs and Reds; a three-team road trip (San Diego; San Fran; and Arizona); a homestand of the Padres; Cards; and Brewers; and finally a season-ending three game series at Los Angeles, which against long odds could have division implications on it. And at the very least will probably have playoff implications for the Rockies.
The other series worth mentioning for this weekend is the Cubs at the Dodgers, a rematch of the NLDS surprise series from a year ago. This timeframe is pretty much it for Chicago. They're now seven back in the Central (did that happen fast or what?) and they've lost four games to the Rockies in the Wild Card standings in the last week-and-a-half. They're now six games out of a playoff spot. While the Dodgers have to tighten the ship and make sure they don't blow this division lead, the Cubs are in pure survival mode at this point. They're talented enough to make a run, but their dysfunctionality, underperformance and bad luck, to this point, have all conspired to make this a lost season for many people's preseason favorites in the National League.
Have a great weekend whatever your plans are. It's been brutally hot & humid in the Northeast with temps hitting 90 consistently, and enough moisture in the air to make any movement laborious. Can't wait for this weather system to blow the heck out of here and bring more September-like weather . . .
(Summer Heat, The Summer Game Edition)
Another weekend in summer. Another Yankee-Red Sox series. Of course this series has less resonance than when the two rivals met at Yankee Stadium just two weeks ago. Importance? It's still there from Boston's perspective, as the Rangers are right there with them, battling for the American League's fourth playoff spot. Texas is one game behind entering today's play. Tampa remains on the fringe at four back.
However, it goes without saying that the Yankees don't want to stumble around the Fens this weekend and get swept. But even losing 2 of 3 isn't cause for any consternation or gastrointestinal rumblings.
Boston's bats, so quiet in the last Yankee series, have to come to life in the last few days in Toronto. The Yanks appear to have the pitching advantage in the first two games (Pettitte vs. Penny and Burnett vs. Tazawa), with Boston getting the pitching nod in a great prime time match-up on Sunday: Sabathia vs. Beckett. A potential Game 1 ALCS preview right there.
---
Other series of note for the weekend:
Texas @ Tampa. Wild Card contestants #2 and #3 at the moment. I keep waiting for Tampa to make that one great stand, that one big winning streak to catapult them to the top of the Wild Card standings . . . but it just doesn't come. A series loss here at home to the Rangers would be telling.
Giants @ Rockies. Who would've thought a couple months into the season that a late August series between San Fran and Colorado would be the premier N.L. match-up of a given weekend? With the Dodgers seemingly just going through the motions in these Dog Days, the Rockies (winners of four in a row, 7-3 in their last 10) are within 3.5 games of Los Angeles. And the Giants are only two behind them. With the Cubs' August swoon, these two N.L. West teams have become the front-runners in the Wild Card race, with Florida & Atlanta remaining just far enough above mediocrity to remain players.
The Rockies upcoming stretch includes this four-game wrap-around series hosting the Giants, then home vs. the Dodgers for three, then three next weekend at San Francisco. After that (which kicks off their September schedule): a manageable homestand featuring the Mets, D-Backs and Reds; a three-team road trip (San Diego; San Fran; and Arizona); a homestand of the Padres; Cards; and Brewers; and finally a season-ending three game series at Los Angeles, which against long odds could have division implications on it. And at the very least will probably have playoff implications for the Rockies.
The other series worth mentioning for this weekend is the Cubs at the Dodgers, a rematch of the NLDS surprise series from a year ago. This timeframe is pretty much it for Chicago. They're now seven back in the Central (did that happen fast or what?) and they've lost four games to the Rockies in the Wild Card standings in the last week-and-a-half. They're now six games out of a playoff spot. While the Dodgers have to tighten the ship and make sure they don't blow this division lead, the Cubs are in pure survival mode at this point. They're talented enough to make a run, but their dysfunctionality, underperformance and bad luck, to this point, have all conspired to make this a lost season for many people's preseason favorites in the National League.
Have a great weekend whatever your plans are. It's been brutally hot & humid in the Northeast with temps hitting 90 consistently, and enough moisture in the air to make any movement laborious. Can't wait for this weather system to blow the heck out of here and bring more September-like weather . . .
