I'm sorry to all who read this post, because it's mainly going to be me venting my frustration over the consistency of the Yankees and Rays and their battle to maybe someday break the AL East division leader tie.
To be honest, at this point, it's not even that I want the Yanks to overtake Tampa Bay. Both teams are so far ahead of the next closest competitor for the wild card, Boston, that no matter which one leads the division, the other one's got the wild card all but clinched. Long story short, both teams will be in the playoffs regardless. So one of them should just win a damn game when the other one loses. All season, we've watched both teams, without fail, lead each other by no more than 3 games and no less than half a game. It's truly been one of the more exciting points of this already-intense season. The balance of power between these two strong teams has had a few twists and turns that have kept things spicy, vivacious and interesting...and for the past week, they've been in a stalemate, neither gaining ground on their opponent nor giving it. It's been, for lack of a better word, boring. They win on the same days against other teams, and they lose on the same days as well. Couldn't Cano or Teixeira hit home runs on the days that Pena and Longoria don't? Can't Shields give up 3 or 4 runs on the day when Sabathia throws a shutout? Can't managers Joe Girardi and Joe Maddon contact each other and just work out a plan in which, sometime before October 3rd, they don't end their game the same way that the other did? Enough is enough, already. Seriously. Both are 6-4 in their last 10 games, both have a winning streak of 2 games after the Rays won 3 while the Yanks dropped a few, but since August 24th, THEY'VE BEEN DOING THE SAME EXACT THINGS. Both lost 1 game. Both had a day off. Both lost the next game. Both won the next game. And the game after that. And the game after THAT. And I really just can't handle it anymore. I'm praying someone sends a Manny Ramirez to one of their teams, just to throw things off kilter and finally give me a reason to believe in something again. God, if you're reading this post, LET THE TORTURE STOP. Give the Bombers or the Devil Rays a thunderbolt one day this month so that the standings finally show something, anything, any sign of life that could serve as proof that, yes, this playoff race is still exciting!! Because I'm quickly becoming a non-believer, and I could really use some faith in the higher powers that be (aside from Bud Selig).
You want to know what else bothers me this season? Why haven't I heard anything about Aroldis Chapman in a while? I know it's a pressing concern for all of you as well, but fear not: Cincinnati's attempt at a Strasburg-like rookie pitcher is finally getting called up to the big leagues before the week is done. The difference between Stephen H. Christburg and this Cuban delight is that the Reds, while anxious to call their young phenom up, waited just a little longer than the overly-antsy Nationals, giving Chapman more time to prepare in the minors. More importantly, pitching just one month in the majors this season makes him a lot less susceptible to career-changing surgery. With Stephen out for the rest of this season and the majority of the next because of his impending Tommy John surgery (the normal rehab period is between 12 and 18 months), and Bryce Harper's runny mascara-like eyeblack not expected anytime this year, this is the perfect youthful injection for the MLB. It doesn't hurt, of course, that Chapman is joining the team with a 5-game lead on the gasping Cardinals, the NL Central division title wedged firmly in their grasp. All he has to do is throw 2 or 3 good games (at this point in the season, that's probably the most he'll get), help the Reds defensively in the playoffs, and as long as Joey Votto stays hot in the batter's box and surprising youngster Jay Bruce continues to belt home runs with the same frequency that the Kansas City Royals lose games (coming into August, he had hit 10 on the season; coming out of August, he added 8 more to that total, including an incredible 3-3 game this past Friday, all of his hits being homers), suddenly Chappy could have the makings of the better Ohio team's next ace.
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