Those Weaker Sisters In The Senior Circuit

With the Yankees clinching the Wild Card last night, the AL playoff picture is set, save for who'll have the best record, home-field advantage and the choice of days off. Not so in the NL. What the heck is going on over there?

I'll tell you what's going on. Someone always gets their feathers ruffled when it's pointed out that the American League is beter than the National League. Well, they might as well smooth out their ruffles because it's true. That's all there is to it. There's a very simple reason for it, too. Well, two actually: 1) The New York Yankees and 2) The Boston Red Sox. The other twelve teams know they have to compete with these two powerhouses and they try their best to do so, whether it's with their bank accounts or with strong farm systems.

Who in the NL is like the Yankees or Red Sox? The Mets? No, they're just pretenders. They pretend to be spenders, then fall into situations like the one they're in now, in danger of missing the postseason. If they had spent money on their bullpen (wisely, instead of paying Guillermo Mota) they might just have clinched the division by now. This is also the reason Willie Randolph will not be fired if the Mets do collapse. The Mets would have to eat the remainder of Willie's contract and, they're too cheap to do anything like that.

Needless to say, it'll be an exciting last couple of days of the season in the National League.

The Lady

From The "Don't Look Now" File: The Colorado Rockies

The Rockies' Matt Holliday hit two balls hard last night in his team's win over the Phillies. One resulted in a triple play and the other was his 30th home-run. Significant yes, but when you look at where the Colorado Rockies are in the standings, you see something even more significant: The Rockies are only 2.5 games out in the NL Wild Card race!

With the exception of the East, all of the NL races are filled with teams who seem like they don't want to be there. The Brewers, whom I picked to win the Central, can't get out of their own way, much less the Cubs' or the Cardinals'. Lou Piniella's attempt to bully his team into putting a streak together after last night's big win is going to backfire. The Cardinals don't know how to stay away from controversy long enough to make any hay in the playoff races. Yes, the NL stinks (Sound familiar?); it makes perfect sense that the Colorado Rockies are right in the thick of things.

Maybe they're the X-factor. Maybe the Rockies are the team that stakes a claim in the NL. Then again, maybe I'll be blogging about some other NL team next week, saying they might be the X-factor. Yeah, it'll probably be the latter.

The Lady

Lady's Choice: 2007 NL East Plus (the Wild Card)

It will be a totally different story this year in the NL East. The Mets failed to bolster their pitching this off-season, so there's no way they are going to run away with the division this time around. In fact, if they don't do something to repair their rotation soon, it won't matter what Pedro Martinez does if and when he returns in August. I don't see them finishing higher than 4th this year. Although Mike Hampton is hurt again, I believe Atlanta will re-claim the top spot, with John Smoltz, a healthy Tim Hudson, and closer Bob Wickman. I can't wait to see what promising young prospects they bring along this time around. As for the Phillies, I got a kick out of Jimmy Rollins' trash talk about them being the team to beat this year. I don't think it's true, but they'll do pretty well. The Marlins won't be affected too much by Joe Girardi's departure. Look for an even bigger year from Miguel Cabrera and maybe even some strong leadership from Aaron Boone. Dontrelle Willis will continue to be himself (and I'll continue to hope he ends up with the Yankees). Here's the Lady's Choice for the 2007 NL East:

1 Atlanta Braves
2 Philadelphia Phillies
3 Florida Marlins
4 New York Mets
5 Washington Nationals

I don't believe any team will run away with their division this year, so there'll be a lot of teams in the running for the NL Wild Card. The Padres, Dodgers, Giants, Cardinals, Brewers, Phillies, and Atlanta will all be in this race. I know it's way to early to tell at this point, but right now, it looks like it will come down to either the Brewers or the Phillies. I'll re-visit this in mid-season, but right now I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the 2007 NL Wild Card will be the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Lady