Guest Author - David Landry

AL East
This could be the first year since 1997 that any team other than the Yankees has won the AL East. As of this writing, the Red Sox lead by eight games and are heading to the Bronx for a three game series. This will be followed by another three game series at Fenway in September. The Yankees have a slightly favorable schedule over the Sox, but that won’t be the key factor. If the Yankees are going to come back, the six games where they face each other will be the key.

Could this be 1978 all over again? The standings were about the same, but the Yankees came back and forced a one game playoff that was decided by a Bucky Dent home run. After burying the Sox in last year’s “Boston Massacre” sweep, no sensible person is counting the Yankees out just yet. That said, I think the Sox will emerge victorious.

AL Central
Last year’s AL Central race was probably the most exciting in baseball. Minnesota interrupted what had been a Detroit-Chicago seesaw race and snatched the Division. Detroit went on to win the wild card and made it to the World Series. This year looks to be another white knuckle ride. Detroit seems to have gotten their mojo back against the Yankees over the weekend and Cleveland is playing well.

Both teams go into September with virtually equal schedules. They play each other three more times and will have the opportunity to feast on the likes of Chicago, Kansas City and Oakland for fifteen of their remaining games. Cleveland has a slight edge in that the only difference in their schedules is that Cleveland meets Texas for three while Detroit faces LA for three. The schedule and their two and a half game lead gives the edge to Cleveland.

AL West
The LA Angels have led this race almost from the beginning. They have the second best record in baseball, behind the Red Sox, but are matched against the Seattle Mariners who have the third best record in baseball. As a result, there’s a real race in the West. The schedule favors LA, but they meet each other six more times. If LA can manage a split or something close to one against Seattle, they should hang on.

AL Wild Card
This year there’s a strong competitor from each division. Seattle is in front of the Yankees by two and Detroit by three. New York and Detroit have favorable schedules over Seattle and are both still in the race. Assuming there’s no jockeying with the current division leaders, this is a race that should come down to the wire. Detroit is hot, Seattle is playing mediocre ball and the Yankees were just spanked by Detroit. With the Yankees light September schedule, they are likely to stay in the hunt.