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Who will make the playoffs is a blog worked on by FanNation users dudeman, dyhard and Super Squirrel. It's a 6 part blog covering each and every team. Here you'll find who has the best chance to make the playoffs among the teams in the AL East. The teams are listed in alphabetical order.

Tuesday: AL East

Wednesday: AL Central

Thursday: AL West

Friday: NL East

Saturday: NL Central

Sunday: NL West

Baltimore Orioles

Dude's take: The Orioles are a young team that has a talented offense, but they lack pitching to keep them in games early. George Sherrill has been the only bright spot for the Orioles' pitching staff this season. The Orioles' time will come eventually, but they aren't going to get to the playoffs this year. I don't see them making the playoffs whatsoever. They should sit back and relax, because this year they are to inexperienced, and there is way to much competition for them to reach the playoffs. Have fun in your off season (beginning in October) boys.

Percentage chance: 0%

Dyhard's take: The Orioles have hitting, but their pitching is what is going to be the falling point. They need better pitching in order to make the playoffs, and they won't come close. This pitching is going to lead them to the cellar of the division.

Percentage chance: 8.5%

SS's take: The Orioles essentially have no pitching other than Jeremy Guthrie. They're 27th in the league with a 4.70 Team ERA, three of the five starters have an ERA over 5.00, with Daniel Cabrera at 4.97, and with that kind of pitching, no matter how good your team is at the plate, and the Orioles are very good at the plate, you aren't making the playoffs.

Percentage chance: 10%

Boston Red Sox

Dude's take: The Red Sox are the most loaded team in baseball. They have the pitching, they have the offense, they have the coaching, and most important of all - they have experience. Although they lost Manny Ramirez, who has so much experience and is such a great player, they got back a great young player in Jason Bay. Their starting pitching hasn't been as good as last year, but it still is dominating. Their bullpen has been consistent and the offense provides 5 runs per game. They have all the pieces and are on the verge of making the playoffs easy. I think they have to worry about the Yankees more than the Rays.

Percentage chance: 82%

Dyhard's take: They had Manny Ramirez, and the players wanted him traded, so he got traded. They got Jason Bay who has been performing VERY well since coming to the Red Sox. So far, he has these stats. 1 HR, 4 RBI, 6 runs, 5/16 which results in a .313 BA, a .450 OBP and he also has 3 BB compared to 5 SO. The Red Sox will either win the division or come in as a Wild Card.

Percentage chance: 75%

SS's take: They basically shot themselves in the foot with the Manny trade. They are not a better team with Jason Bay, they are definitely worse with Bay out in left field. They have one of the deepest rotations in baseball however, with Daisuke, Lester, Beckett, and Wakefield, and that is definitely a plus for them, but the problems they have go deeper than that. David Ortiz hasn't been performing this year, and now without Manny in front of him, his numbers are going to go even farther down. Are their chances better than if they had kept Manny, who may have dogged it through the rest of the year? Maybe, but their chances aren't good right now, and they're going to need a lot of help from the Twins, White Sox, and Yankees to make the playoffs.

Percentage chance: 50%

New York Yankees

Dude's take: The Yankees have definitely put themselves in a position to win down the stretch with their recent acquisitions of Xavier Nady and Pudge Rodriguez, but it's definitely going to be tough for them to surpass both the Red Sox and the Rays in the AL East and the AL Wildcard. Their pitching has managed to keep it together without the ace of the rotation (Chien Mien Wang) and with the injuries and struggles of Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy. I don't know if the pitching can keep it up, but I think the offense will be a huge plus for the Yanks down the stretch.

Percentage chance: 57%

Dyhard's take: They have a good team, and with Ivan Rodriguez they should do a little better. They have the pitching, they have the hitting, they just have to overcome the Rays, who have been playing outstanding this year, and they have to overcome the Red Sox. I see them coming close to the playoffs, but just barely miss it.

Percentage chance: 45%

SS's take: The Yankees might be the most intriguing team in the AL East. They made a definite splash at the deadline adding Damaso Marte, Ivan Rodriguez, and Xavier Nady to boost an already very good team, but they did fail to address a need at the back end of their rotation. With the amount of runs they score, they could take a look at Livan Hernandez, but they still need to upgrade over Rasner and Ponson. The hitting is great, the Yankees are 11th in batting average and are great in other categories as well. The major concern that I have is that even though they have a very good 25-25 record on the road, the series that they have to play away from Yankee Stadium are tough ones. They've got the Angels and Twins to close out this road trip, they go to Tampa and back to LA in September, then close out with Boston at Fenway. The schedule that they have is very tough, even for the Yankees, plus, they have Baltimore at Yankee Stadium, where the Orioles basically have owned the Yankees this year. It's something I don't see the Yankees pulling off without help.

Percentage chance: 50%

Tampa Bay Rays

Dude's take: The Rays' young talent is finally playing to their potential, and the Rays are winning big. The Rays have all the tools necessary to win the AL East in the end, and I think they will. Their pitching is great and they have a pretty good offense. Couple that with their number of home games down the stretch, and they have the best chance of the teams in this division to get to the playoffs. Barring a collapse, they should be able to pull out the division, but even if someone overtakes them, the Wild card is still theirs for the taking.

Percentage chance: 87%

Dyhard's take: They have been playing OUTSTANDING this year, and I thought that they were going to fall off, but they haven't. They have good pitching, and they also have good hitting. All of their guys have been producing and they might have a little losing streak, but they will come right back and play well the next games after it. The only question I have with them is their experience.

Percentage chance: 85%

SS's take: The Rays seem like a shoo-in compared to the Sox and Yankees...(Who would have EVER thought that statement would be uttered...?) mostly due to their immense young talent like Evan Longoria and Scott Kazmir. They definitely have the schedule to do it too. The Rays have one of the best home records in baseball, and they have almost all of their tough series at Tropicana Field. The Twins, Angels, Yankees, and Red Sox all have to come to Tampa, and the toughest road series are at Boston and NY. The Rays have enough talent to get them the Wild Card for sure, barring injuries down the stretch...

Percentage chance: 99.9%

Toronto Blue Jays

Dude's take: The Blue Jays have the pitching to win with studs such as Halladay and Burnett. But, they lack in offense. With no clear cut stud offensive player, the Blue Jays are going to struggle to win games down the stretch. With their tough division and the competition in the Wild card it's VERY hard to see this team turnaround and make the playoffs. They really need to score runs and win a lot of games if they want to be contending when the end of September arrives. I think they should have traded Burnett for a bat or two at the trading deadline. Blue Jays' management is definitely repenting any deals they didn't go through with.

Percentage chance: 5%

Dyhard's take: They have pitching, but their pitching isn't going to be leading them to the playoffs. They are going to need to score runs, and being 25th in runs scored, their offense is not effective enough. This isn't going to be pretty for them, and they will most likely finish in last in the AL East. They have to overcome the Rays, Red Sox, and Yankees to make the playoffs, and they aren't going to be able to do that.

Percentage chance: 5%

SS's take: Toronto is in a terrible place right now. 11.5 games back of the Rays, 6 games back of the Yankees. The lead looks insurmountable, but the Jays do have one of the better starting rotations in baseball, anchored by Roy Halladay. The thing that hurts the Jays? They are TERRIBLE at the plate. Toronto is 25th in runs scored, 17th in Batting Average, and 24th in Slugging Percentage. Bottom line is that without getting production from Alex Rios and Scott Rolen, that pitching staff will get them nowhere.

Percentage chance: 10%

August 5, 2008  09:56 AM ET

Let the criticsism begin.

August 5, 2008  10:30 AM ET

Wow...this was great. Whoever that dyhard guy was, he did an amazing job.

August 5, 2008  11:01 AM ET

lol

August 5, 2008  11:18 AM ET

the Rays now have the hard part of their schedule....mark my words the Yankees will make it while the Rays take the WC leaving the SOX to cry their way to the offseason

August 5, 2008  04:45 PM ET

Sweet blog. You ever get the feeling that someone's done a blog just like this?

It won't be the same when you don't see Gu3 getting ripped in the comments.

Comment has been removed
August 5, 2008  06:51 PM ET

Prodigy, the Sox have a very good team, and they are going to be able to hold on and finish 2nd in the division and with Jason Bay, the loss of Manny Ramirez isn't going them much.

August 5, 2008  06:51 PM ET

Hemo, me/dude/SS's blog will be better though! :)

August 5, 2008  06:53 PM ET

The Yankees, Joba Chamberlain just got injured with a sore shoulder, and you don't know how that is going to effect them. Plus, Chein Ming Wang isn't going to be playing and that is also going to but a hole in their rotation as he is a very good pitcher, and that is going to hurt.

August 6, 2008  07:23 PM ET

The O's and Jays have no chance you guys need to just say that outfront

 
August 7, 2008  08:27 AM ET

The Rays will be in their first post season play this year. They will certainly be a force in the AL East for many years to come with their young, athletic line up and a farm system that feeds them players like Zobrist, Price, and Brignac. Stay healthy and we can very well win it all.
Remarkable Rays....Who would thought that a team just 6 years ago considered the worse team of all time (and mathematically out of the playoff race during spring training. ha.) would be on the verge of the World Series.

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