In both the AL and NL, the Central divisions have great races going on that should go down to the wire. As of right now, the White Sox lead the disappointing Twins by .5 game and the surprising Royals by 1 game. In the NL, the Astros are up 1 game on the Cardinals and 1.5 on the Cubs.

So who do you think will win these divisions? Who are you rooting for?

Well, the races are great in that they're close... wink What's the deal with the Twins? I haven't been following them closely. Have they had injuries or are they just underachieving or was last season just a fluke? Theoretically they should've blasted the Sox and Royals out of the water long ago.

The Twins pitching, thought to be their best asset, has really underachieved. Radke and Mays have been shelled. Kenny Rogers has pitched really well and Johan Santana, filling in for Eric Milton, has been terrific. They haven't been able to get good pitching with good hitting for any extended peiods of time.

I'm going to the Friday night and Sunday games in the last series of the regular season, Royals vs. Chisox. I hope the Royals are back in 1st place by a comfortable margin by that time, but gosh darn it, wouldn't it be exciting if it came down to that last game to determine who goes to the playoffs! With the Royals winning, of course.

All I have to say is: GO TWINS!!!!

I am going to stick with my original picks in the Central Division races before the season ever started--White Sox and Cardinals. They are not necessarily whom I am rooting for, but they seem to be dealing with the pressure situations best so far. The Royals have hung in much longer than I ever anticipated, but I think Minnesota and Chicago will be fighting this one out by mid-September.

I'm agreeing with Cattledog and voted for White Sox & Cardinals.

I don't recall my Indians being mathematically eliminated !

Brian Anderson traded:

Why would you help another team in your division ??????? dumb*ss cleveland !

They're not mathematically eliminated but they're not making the playoffs either. So if they got better prospects back, why not?

Joe, you missed my point. I know Indians are probably not making playoffs, I'm mad they helped a team in their division. Remember how the Yankees would sign players JUST SO no other team would sign them ? eek!

And all Cleveland got was two Single A players nobody ever heard of and some cash.

[ August 26, 2003, 06:39 PM: Message edited by: osufan ]

But the Yankees usually are in the playoff chase. That makes it a good strategy. What's the difference if the Indians helped another team in their division for this year when the Indians aren't in it? It's not like they gave away the AL Central. They weren't getting it to begin with. And Brian Anderson doesn't seem like a guy who's going to suddenly become a superstar for years to come. So it's really just for this year.

And many minor-leaguers are totally unknown to 99.9 percent of baseball fans, but they may still be good prospects. So if one of these two step up, it's a plus deal for Cleveland.

And cash is always nice to have...

I hear ya but I'd rather the Division remain a piece of crap, so Cleveland can come back next year and be the leader of all the Crap, and make the playoffs.

I think you can bet that Cleveland's scouting department heard of them.

And all Cleveland had to give up was the final six weeks on Brian Anderson's contract. And, don't forget, nothing stops Cleveland from trying to re-sign Anderson when his contract is up at the end of the season and he's again a free agent. All and all, two low minor leaguers isn't a bad trade for six weeks on a contract.

Um, can I just say: Go Astros! I'm looking forward to them winning another division title, and REEEAALLY hope they take the pennant.

I've been an on-again - off-again fan of NL baseball ever since the seventies, and there were those darn eighties and much of the nineties when I didn't follow baseball whatsoever, but the Astros have always held a special place in my heart.

In '72, '73, and '74, my family spent a few weeks each summer in Houston, because of my dad's job, and we always went to several games at the Astrodome. We were always in the upper sections, which, as an 8 to 10 year old kid, seemed like it was a mile away from the field. When my grandmother passed away last year, I found in her possessions a letter from me in Houston, where I wrote, "We watched the Astros beat the Pirates last night, and we're going to watch them again tomorrow, and we might go watch them play the Cardinals after that." Cesar Cedeno was my first crush. Somewhere I have a scrapbook with his autograph and a game program with a pictures of a shirtless Cedeno wearing a gold chain. Hot stuff! I stared at that picture for hours and hours, and probably got my first boner looking at it.

So, although I haven't watched many NL games this year, I always check out the scores and the standings, and get a thrill out of seeing Houston at the top. I would love to see them win the World Series (as long as it's not against my Royals ).

Twins complete the sweep over the ChiSox!!! They now lead the division by 3 1/2 games. Chicago has two series against the Royals and one against the Yankees. Meanwhile the Twins get the Tigers for two series and the Indians for a two game set.

The midseason acquisition of Shannon Stewart may well be the most significant move any team made before the trade deadline. He's reall helped ignite the offense. And Johan Santana going from the bullpen to the starting rotation has been huge.

Looks like the AL Central winner will draw the Yankees. Given the Twins have lost something like 12 straight to the Bombers, maybe they are due! Hey the poiwer of positive thinking!!!

It appears that the NL Central and the wild card are the ONLY races for the last week ... 2 out of 8, some scheme...

The Cubs DO have a fairly cushy schedule for the last 10 days.

You don't count the AL Central or AL wild card as races? They're not extremely close, but the trailing teams aren't absolute longshots compared to the teams that are trailing in the division races.

Do you doubt the Twins and Red Sox are in? I don't.

I don't necessarily think the Red Sox are in. The Twins have a stronger chance but it's still a 3.5 game difference, not 5 or more like in the other divisions.

Flags will be at half-mast in St. Louis today, mourning the loss of the Cardinals playoff hopes ... 6 down with 7 to go, unless the '64 Phillies resurrect themselves in both Chicago and Houston the fork has been stuck in the Cards.

Joe, following the ricidulous collapse of the White Sox, the Twins will win the division only to be promptly crushed by the Yankees in the Divisional playoffs.

I don't think the White Sox collapse was ridiculous. I never thought they were that good anyway. And I think the Twins are now probably just as dangerous as they were last year.

...and trust me, we Yankee fans are licking our chops!

I don't know. Those 5 game series make me nervous.

Hey, Pat, I thought the Division Series had been expanded to best of seven, no? I have to say there's nothing more annoying than being out of the country and not having access to English-language media other than CNN International in my hotel. I'm sitting in an internet cafe in London after being stuck in Russia and Poland for the past nine days, and I've just read about the Twins pulling away, the Chisox collapsing, the Giants clinching, the M's choking, and I have to say there's nothing I miss when I'm on these trips EXCEPT baseball. I miss the day-in, day-out twists and turns it takes, the sudden changes in momentum at this time of year, the subtle alignment of pitching staffs for postseason play. It's amazing the hold it has on me - I can't wait to log on tomorrow morning to find out if Andy Pettitte wins his 20th tonight!! It's getting close to bedtime; now that I've caught up on baseball I guess I should check my business e-mail....

[ September 20, 2003, 01:47 PM: Message edited by: Munson Man ]

Hey Munson Man, I think the divisional series are still best of 5. Yes, the wild card races and central division races aren't as tight as they were ten days ago. Have a safe trip back.

There are no guarantees when the Red Sox are involved.

The Royals victory today (Saturday) probably is the knockout punch for the ChiSox limited hopes. The hottest team in baseball right now, deservedly so, is the Twins.

The Twins are overrated and overbloated. I hope the Yankees kick their immature asses back to the frozen tundra of the Twin Cities.

The White Sox's collapse WAS ridiculous because it never should have happened. Such a good team--on paper at least; yet, they've been so inconsistent. They don't have a lot of problems to solve or changes to make, but one very big change must be the manager.

Manuel is terrible, awful, horrible, pathetic. Everyone--and I mean everyone--is blasting Manuel. The two main Chicago sports talk stations' show hosts, The Sporting News and Sport Illustrated, repeated callers on the sports radio shows--all consistently have criticized Manuel. Hell, his players even aren't fond of him, and what a surprise, eh? After all, he has NO motivational skills whatsoever.

"Ghandi," as they call him, is fine for managing chess, not a major league baseball team.

Twins continue to roll as they increase their lead in the Central to 4 1/2 games and their magic number at 5.

For those who are convinced the Yanks will steamroll the overmatched Twins, some food for thought. When the Twins won it all in 1987, they had to play the Tigers in the ALCS (there was no ALDS back then). The Tigers had taken something like 11 of 12 from Minny during the season, much like the Yanks recent dominance over the Twins, and had a much better overall record. Homefield advantage played a part for sure, but the Twins won. Same in 1991 when the Twins took down the "far superior" Blue Jays. The team with the best record doesn't always win. Just ask the Braves and Indians and Mariners and A's.

Plus Seattle has climbed back into the Wild Card, which means the Twins may not draw the teh Yanks, but the AL West winner.

[ September 21, 2003, 10:09 AM: Message edited by: George_vikingfan ]

Thanks for the update on the Division Series, Pat. I see Pettitte won his 20th last night. Ah, Bliss!!

Either way, I can't wait to see those kiddies sent packing as they watch the World Series from the comfort of their La-Z-Boys.

Seattle just climbed back out. Yanks vs. Twins in the first round and is a sure thing.

Almost twice as many Outsporters picked the White Sox to win the AL Central than picked the Twins. Twins have won 10 in a row and are the hottest team in baseball at the moment. I know they'll go into the Yankees series as huge underdogs, but you never know!

Gotta hand it to the Twins... They've won 17 of 21 games in September so far, including 5 of 6 against the White Sox. They could easily be on their way to winning 22 in Sept. Pretty amazing finish to the season for a team that lost 2/3 of their games between Memorial Day and the All-Star game. I'll be cheering for them in the playoffs, and I'm still holding out hope for my Astros in the NL.