MLB Update 2011

Hat tip to Eric for keeping the lights on over the weekend.

July 4 is the time to start following baseball. By this point, you should have a pretty good sense of who's good and who's not. Plus, let's face it, there's really not much else to watch (at least in the United States). Here are where things stand this morning (divisional leaders in italics, games behind in parentheses):

NATIONAL LEAGUE:
Philadelphia: 54-32 (0)
Atlanta: 50-36 (4)
San Francisco: 48-38 (6)
St. Louis: 46-40 (8)
Arizona: 46-40 (8)
Milwaukee: 45-41 (9)
Pittsburgh: 44-41 (9.5)
New York: 43-42 (10.5)
Washington: 43-43 (11)
Cincinnati: 43-43 (11)
Colorado: 41-44 (12.5)
San Diego: 39-47 (15)
Florida: 38-47 (15.5)
Los Angeles: 37-49 (17)
Chicago: 35-51 (19)
Houston: 29-57 (25)

It is an absolute travesty that Philadelphia -- which is clearly the best team in the National League -- will have to run the gamut of two short playoff series against lesser teams to win the pennant. The only other real items of interest here relate to the fact that Natstown and Pittsburgh both did very well in June, and that the Dodgers, Cubs and Astros -- proud franchises all -- have been reduced to laughing stocks.

AMERICAN LEAGUE:
New York: 50-33 (0)
Boston: 49-35 (1.5)
Tampa Bay: 47-38 (4)
Cleveland: 45-38 (5)
Los Angeles: 45-41 (6.5)
Detroit: 45-41 (6.5)
Texas: 45-41 (6.5)
Chicago: 43-43 (8.5)
Seattle: 42-43 (9)
Toronto: 42-44 (9.5)
Minnesota: 37-46 (13)
Oakland: 38-48 (13.5)
Baltimore: 36-46 (13.5)
Kansas City: 34-51 (17)

Hey, baseball! You know what would be about fifteen times more exciting that your wild card races and the first round of your divisional playoffs? A race between the Yankees and the Red Sox in which only one team can make the playoffs. It's just amazing to me that people act as though the wild card system has "worked" even though September baseball -- which used to be the best baseball of the whole year -- is now a complete afterthought, given that the best teams are always assured of making the playoffs.

Predicted winners:
NL East: Philadelphia
NL Central: St. Louis
NL West: San Francisco
NL Wild Card: Atlanta

AL East: New York
AL Central: Detroit
AL West: Los Angeles:
AL Wild Card: Boston