For weeks now baseball fans have lamented the lack of compelling postseason races. The Atlanta Braves are trying to make things interesting in the National League Wild Card battle. And, of course, the Minnesota Twins are somehow still holding on in the American League Central — even without slugger Justin Morneau, the former league MVP who is out for the year with a stress fracture in his back.
“I keep thinking about Detroit, thinking they have messed up,” said TBS baseball analyst Dennis Eckersley on Sunday. “[The Tigers] could have taken [that division], they should have won this thing long before the last week of the season.”
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Instead, Detroit, 14-11 in September, has let Minnesota hang around and now is beginning a four-game series at home with the season on the line. Last night’s contest was postponed, leaving the Twins two games out with four still left in the Motor City and three more this weekend against the last-place Royals.
“When you have an opportunity to capitalize and you don’t …” added TBS analyst David Wells. “The Tigers only have a couple of guys in the lineup [hitting] … so you don’t know what you’re going to get.”
Whichever team wins will be a heavy underdog in a postseason series against the Yankees. The Twins — especially without Morneau — don’t have the horses to compete. Detroit’s pitching depth at least gives it a puncher’s chance. But while everyone is scribbling dates for yet another Yankees-Red Sox ALCS in mid-October, TBS analyst Cal Ripken says not so fast. The Angels will have home-field advantage against Boston and are out to avenge three series losses to the Red Sox over the last five years.
“[Boston] is an awfully dangerous team. The experience, they have the nasty factor that we talk about,” Ripken said. “But keep your eye on the Angels. I have no real reason why — they’ve lost the last two years in the playoffs — but I think they’ve been pushed a little bit more this year and I think they might be due.”
