The Crow’s Nest: Failing Upwards

Seattle Mariners have lost 6 of their last 10 games. They have a one-in-one chance of making the playoffs. Last night they won a thrilling game against the Kansas City Royals. The team is closer to the postseason than it was in 2016 and last year.

The New York Yankees clinched the AL East on September 28th with a 5-2 win over Toronto Blue Jays. They have won 5 of their last 6 games and are playing well. Aaron Judge has hit 61 home runs this season, which tied Roger Maris’s AL single-season home run record.

Cleveland Guardians clinched AL Central title on Sunday. They have a good record, but they are not a world-class team. Their lineup is good, with good individual players like Steven Kwan and José Ramirez. However, their batting line-up is not very good. They are a middle-of-the-pack team with a solid average and a decent slugging percentage. The team is down Zach Plesac for the season.

The Toronto Blue Jays have a 100% chance of making the playoffs and a 4% of winning the World Series. They have had a rough week, but still have the advantage of a two-and-a-half-game lead in the Wild Card. With the games against Boston and Baltimore remaining, they can wrap up the first Wild card spot.

Seattle Mariners have lost six of their last ten games. They are still in the playoff race, but their magic number has dropped to 1. The team has a chance to win the World Series. Seattle has jumped the Rays for the second wild-card spot. The Rays have six games remaining to Seattle's seven. It's possible that the team could be out of the playoffs by Friday. However, the Tampa Bay Rays own the tiebreaker. Their record is currently at 50-47. A team with a better record than Seattle is the winner of both the Wild Card and the Championship.

The Tampa Bay Rays are in danger after getting swept by the A*tros last week and losing to the Blue Jays and Guardians. Randy Arozarena has been mostly offensively the player he was last year, slashing .269/.330/.454. Wander Franco missed most of the second half of this season with an injury, Mike Zunino has also been out all year and Tyler Glasnow has missed a lot of time. The Rays have a talented team but they don't have the plug-and-play depth like a team built as this should.

The Baltimore Orioles are not going to the playoffs. They lost six of their last ten games and are one game away from elimination. The team had a good year and gave the Mariners a scare, but they were never going anywhere. This offseason, the Orioles may be looking to make a big splashes.

The Chicago White Sox have been eliminated from postseason contention. Tony LaRussa will not manage the team next year.