GAP Playoff Picture

With just 16 games left, the playoff picture is coming into focus. While it appears the Royals are on track for their first playoff appearance, I'm not counting it yet. Anyway, here is the glance:

AL
North - Boston (86) leads Chicago by 8 games.
East - Minnesota (82) leads New York by 5 games and Cleveland by 8 games.
South - Kansas City (85) leads Tampa Bay by 8 games.
West - Oakland (97) has clinched.

WC - Six teams fighting for two spots:
Seattle 80
Chicago 78
Tampa Bay 77
New York 77
Cleveland 74
Texas 72

Oakland will get the #1 seed. Boston and KC battle for the second bye, with Minnesota a longshot. Those four are in the drivers' seats for the division titles, with the WC race still wide open.

If the playoffs started today:
(1) Oak vs winner of (4) Min vs (5) Sea
(2) Bos vs winner of (3) KC vs (6) Chi

NL
North - Pittsburgh (83) leads Chicago by 8 games.
East - New York (82) leads Atlanta by 11 games.
South - Houston (89) leads Florida by 1 game and Charlotte by 4 games.
West - San Francisco (95) has clinched.

WC - Two teams in control:
Florida 88
Charlotte 85

San Francisco will likely get the #1 seed, but if either Houston or Florida gets hot, they could make it interesting. The byes will go to SF and the South winner. Charlotte has 7 games on Atlanta and 10 or more on the rest of the field for the last WC spot.

If the playoffs started today:
(1) SF vs winner of (4) NY vs (5) Fla
(2) Hou vs winner of (3) Pit vs (6) Cha

MVP Candidates - NL

So now it is time for the NL candidates to step forward. The NL is a bit tougher in that many of the better teams lack a true MVP type candidate (Houston, Charlotte, Pittsburg, Florida) - especially since I am not considering pitchers (though I think they should be considered).

1a) Alvarez (SF) - (.381/.455/.682 34/102) Is part of the offensive duo that powers the Giants as what many will argue to be the best team in GAP. Leads the league in OPS, average, OBP, slugging, and RC/27 (second to Santana in GAP) and plays catcher. His problem in winning the MVP this year will be...

1b) Belcher (SF) - (.347/.414/.659 44/134) May well beat his teammate for the MVP, but without Alvarez, Belchers RBI production goes way down. Belcher ranks in the top 3 in the NL in every major offensive category, but plays the easier 1b instead of C. I give a slight edge to Alvarez, but that could change.

3) Iglesias (Mil) - (.305/.378/.654 54/136) Plays on a below .500 team, but is putting up huge numbers again. Leads the league in HRs and RBI, and is 3rd in slugging. Where would Milwaukee be without him and Campos?

4) Hogan (NYM) - (.286/.370/.553 30/96) Is a steady player for the Mets and plays a strong 3b as well. Probably would not be considered a leading candidate if the Mets did not have such a good record. Might be the second best offensive player on the team with the acquisition of Diaz.

5) Charlton (CHC) - (.356/.403/.544 19/93) Is playing great ball this year for the Cubs as they fight to stay in the wild card race. Charlton also gets credit for playing C as well as being second in the leaging in hitting. Would not have a problem putting him ahead of Hogan on a ballot.

Honorable Mentions: Campos (Mil), Mieses (Cin), Hall (CHC)

MVP Candidates - AL

Well, it is that time of year again. Time to rollout my favorites for MVP with less than 30 games to play. I decided since HBD has given their list it was time for mine.

1a) Raul Santana (BOS) - (.339 ave/.490 obp/.650 slg 29 HR/109 RBI) Has been a force for the Redsox offensively creating 12.8 runs per 27 outs, easily leading the league. He also leads the league in OPS with 1.140. The weakness in his candidacy is that he is a DH and that he has played about 30 games les than his competition.

1b) Artie Rizzo (KC) - (.341/.445/.642 37/106) Is part of the offense that has carried the Royals (and their struggling pitching) to first place in the AL South. Is second in the league in OPS, 2nd in average, 2nd in OBP, 2nd in slugging, 2nd in RC/27, 3rd in Runs scored, 5th in HRs....you get the picture. He is an well rounded offensive player, and I would have no problem voting for him over Santana.

3) Chuck Hoover (Min) - (.301/.378/.534 27/110) Is an intregal part of the rise of the Twins to the top of the AL East. Although his numbers do not stack up to Santana's or Rizzo's, his defense make him very valuable as he is playing a gold glove caliber CF (compare his numbers to gold glove leading Rowand, and they are very similar).

4) Joe Warden (Det) - (.304/.434/.579 34/117) I usually am not fond of including players from bottom dwelling teams, but Joe is putting up monster numbers and deserves recognition. Was lost in the shuffle last year as he was traded mid season from the NL to the AL, but has adapted to the AL just fine this year.

5) CC Hutton (Oak) - (.279/.387/.567 38/134) The straw that stirs the Athletics offense, Hutton has been called on to play a bigger role this year with the many injuries to the A's team. The career RBI leader shows again why he is the best with 134 RBI in only 129 games played. Even though his other offensive numbers are down for him, the best player on the best team deserves consideration.

Honorable mention: Mota (KC), Everett (Bos),

The .900 club shrinks

Already since I posted the .900 club, we have lost 4 members and 4 are on the verge of leaving. Ellis, Yoshii, Torrealba, and Daly have all dropped out, while Charlton (.901), Hogan (.903), Ford (.901), and Parra (.909) theaten to leave. We might drop below 30 by the end of the year. Within a few years, the .900 club might be a fairly exclusive club.

The .900 OPS Club - Large and Shrinking

I put together what I believe is a comprehensive list of the players that are members of the .900 OPS club. Although not exact, I tried to use about ~1200 PA as a cut off(which eliminated Carrera (CLE) with 1100+ PA). My guess is that in a few weeks we will go from about 38 members to around 35 as our league moves away from the blotted offensive numbers of season 1. Several players have dropped below .900 already this year, including Cleveland Indian 3b Selby - although Charlton (CHC) is one person that joined the club his year with a torrid start. The 1.000 club includes 12 players. Next time I do this, I might switch to a .950 club (22 current members), but I was not about to ditch my work. Top Teams - OAK (4 - 3 in 1.000 club) and KC (4 - Ellis might drop out).

Name	Team	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	HR	RBI
Nunnally	OAK	0.352	0.478	0.695	1.173	98	290
Hutton	OAK	0.317	0.405	0.663	1.068	134	442
Rizzo	KC	0.324	0.438	0.628	1.066	105	312
Alvarez	SF	0.349	0.428	0.634	1.062	86	301
Santana	BOS	0.329	0.466	0.583	1.049	71	271
Warden	DET	0.328	0.429	0.618	1.047	100	351
Belcher	SF	0.327	0.401	0.643	1.044	117	345
Campos	MIL	0.325	0.396	0.641	1.037	126	364
Hamilton	OAK	0.299	0.385	0.645	1.030	113	342
Hunter	TEX	0.299	0.359	0.662	1.021	150	368
Franco	CLE	0.285	0.374	0.644	1.018	135	389
Reboulet	TEX	0.325	0.408	0.604	1.012	94	286
Wirth	ANA	0.293	0.376	0.630	1.006	122	320
Zappata	HOU	0.297	0.359	0.642	1.001	81	268
Valentin	OAK	0.298	0.369	0.623	0.992	94	316
Casey	CHW	0.309	0.388	0.596	0.984	110	346
Jimenez	TEX	0.291	0.369	0.602	0.971	120	311
Riggs	NYY	0.300	0.399	0.557	0.956	72	258
Linden	ATL	0.311	0.412	0.544	0.956	47	226
Fox	HOU	0.304	0.366	0.588	0.954	100	311
House	BOS	0.339	0.410	0.544	0.954	47	228
Mota	KC	0.291	0.366	0.585	0.951	103	361
Swann	PIT	0.304	0.393	0.554	0.947	71	252
Iglesias	MIL	0.282	0.356	0.583	0.939	123	313
Clifton	KC	0.298	0.366	0.570	0.936	86	325
Smart	MIL	0.294	0.370	0.566	0.936	80	269
Goldman	FLA	0.293	0.361	0.570	0.931	65	223
Para	CHC	0.298	0.360	0.564	0.924	99	307
Segui	PHI	0.285	0.349	0.575	0.924	98	300
Diaz	CIN	0.282	0.351	0.573	0.924	110	281
Lopez	FLA	0.300	0.376	0.547	0.923	63	203
Ford	TOR	0.314	0.393	0.526	0.919	59	227
Hogan	NYM	0.290	0.369	0.543	0.912	67	222
Charlton	CHC	0.317	0.379	0.526	0.905	66	251
Daly	PIT	0.284	0.400	0.503	0.903	68	205
Torrealba	SEA	0.282	0.373	0.528	0.901	78	247
Yoshii	TB	0.295	0.369	0.531	0.900	58	311
Ellis	KC	0.325	0.404	0.496	0.900	44	211