Taking a page from the PhillieFever playbook... I always liked his use of color in these things, so now I'm just going to publish screenshots instead of taking the time to format everything. I think it looks cooler anyway.
Giants, Reds Pull Into Tie
White Sox' Magic Number Remains 8
With just eight games to play apiece, New York and Cincinnati have tied themselves into a big knot. From here on out, it's a matter of who wants it more. The Giants, of course, are coming off of a season that some call the best in the history of Major League Baseball. The Reds, on the other hand, have not tasted postseason glory since 1918, long before anyone currently on the team got into the game. In the manner of two clubs that are in it for the long haul, these teams are 11-5 and 12-3 in the month of September, respectively, when you take out the games the played against each other.
The American League race is starting to open up, which is too bad in a way because it was more interesting for a while. Where the Giants and Reds dominate the senior circuit, both the White Sox and the Yankees are very flawed teams. The White Sox lack pitching in the back of the rotation, a problem exacerbated by the loss of Juan Castillo (11-8, 2.78) since July with a shoulder injury. Bob Gordon (10-12, 3.94) has been game as the team's #3 starter but the dean of the Sox staff, who has a lifetime record of 179-153 all with this team, is clearly at the end of his rope. Ted Carson (8-6, 5.17) has a straight fastball that he mixes speeds with, but must have top of the line control to really be effective. That level of control has eluded him this year, as he's yielded 56 walks in 102.2 innings.
The Yankees have had rotation-related issues of their own but that has for the most part worked itself out much better than their AL rivals. Their problem is a lineup that on paper should be tearing the league up but which in reality is just 5th in runs scored. LF Carter Keeton (.321, 15, 68) seems as content to draw a walk in clutch situations as to try to work out a hit; all those years toiling in obscurity in St. Louis may have caused him to lose his winning instincts. 1B Michael Taylor (.269, 6, 50) was supposed to be Keeton's protection in the order but the Bronx native has struggled all year long, even losing half his job to RF/1B Ken Flake (.237, 6, 43), who himself has not shown the 27-homerun power he displayed in Boston last year.
That being said, it looks like, barring a collapse, the White Sox will have the honor of losing to whomever emerges out of the NL. And then both teams will have to look long and hard at how to upgrade this offseason.
