Still A Lot To Play For In The A.L.
Less than a week to play for the Red Sox, Yankees, Indians, and Angels. They’re all making the playoffs. That’s the good news. Two teams will be on the road for Game 1. That’s the bad news. If you think there’s no reason to pay attention to the American League anymore, think again.
Sure, the AL lacks the drama of the senior circuit, where the Wild Card and all three divisions are still up for grabs. And sure, Wild Card teams have been able to win the World Series in the past, but home field advantage in the American League could be a huge factor this postseason.
Especially with the Angels.
As of Tuesday, the Angels are 54-27 at home (best in the big leagues) and 38-38 on the road. The Yankees have similar stats: 52-29 at home, 38-37 on the road. The Indians are far better at home (51-29) than on the road (41-34). Boston is the best road team in the American League playoff picture. The Sawx are 45-36 away from Fenway and 47-28 at home. Only the Mets have more road wins than Boston.
So with only two games separating these four teams in the standings, this final week is huge! The Yankees are at Tampa and Baltimore. The Red Sox host Oakland and Minnesota. The Angels are at Texas and at Oakland, and Cleveland is at Seattle and Kansas City. Tough to say which team has the easiest road, but it’s probably Cleveland’s league to win. The Yankees could easily win five of the next six games, too.
Of course, that doesn’t mean the Yankees are catching the Red Sox, but it does mean that Boston should NOT coast through its final six games. Hey Sox fans (including you, Brent), do you really want to go to Anaheim for a decisive game seven and have to deal with those rally monkeys?
Buckle up. Should be a good week.
