Sports Time Radio

With the Major League Baseball season winding down I just randomly started thinking about next season and I realized something. There is a really good chance that the American League plays out the exact same way that it did this season. And when I say the same I mean division winners wild card teams and even the standings themselves. Here’s what I mean.

In the AL East the Baltimore Orioles and the Toronto Blue Jays aren’t going to be playoff contenders even though the Blue Jays have some good young talent at the major league level they’re still a long way away from contending. The New York Yankees should be good again and they could be even better if they just stay healthy. If the Yankees perceive they have a weakness they’ll attempt to sign a free agent or make a trade. The Tampa Bay Rays should contend just because it seems like they always contend even when everyone counts them out. At times you wonder how they do it but they always seem to be in the playoff race. The only thing that could have an effect on the division is what the Boston Red Sox decide to do this off season. The Red Sox fine themselves trapped up against the luxury tax and there aren’t too many choices for them. They can either hang onto their players and pay the luxury tax or they can deal a player or two and try to get under or close to under that luxury tax. Will have to see how the new front office handles things as we head into the off season in about a week.

As we jump into the AL Central again we have two teams that you can eliminate right away. The Detroit Tigers and the Kansas City Royals won’t be contending for a playoff spot next season as their rebuilds continue. Even though the Minnesota Twins seem to be a playoff contender ever other year there’s a good chance will see them at or near the top of this division next season. The Cleveland Indians and the Chicago White Sox hold the keys to how this division goes next year. Remember last off season the Indians where doing everything they could to cut payroll and at the trade deadline they finally moved Trevor Bauer. Will the payroll cut continue or will the Indians go a different route? Cleveland does seem to have built a good young core of pitchers; so maybe they could hang around in the wild card race if they do decide to trade off some of their higher salaried players. The White sox are an interesting team heading into next season because their rebuild seems to be coming along very well and it looks like they’ll have another young player or two in their everyday line up next season. It looks like the White Sox have two very good young pitchers at the top of their rotation, but if they add one of the top veteran starters this off season that could allow them to contend. The question is; are they ready to spend some money?

As we head out to the AL West it is clear that the Houston Astros are at and look like they’ll be at the top of this division for the time being. While the Astros do have some key free agents that they have to make decisions on it appears as even if they loose a couple of them they have young players in their farm system ready to try and step into that opening. The Oakland A’s are an interesting team as they just seem to hang around and the next thing you know they’re a wild card team. The A’s have been waiting for some help from the young pitchers in their organization, but they seem to keep getting hurt; so who knows if or when they’ll get that help. I think that you could lump the Texas Rangers and the Los Angeles Angels in the same group. It doesn’t look like either team is rebuilding, but it also doesn’t look like either team will contend. It seems like the Angels have been looking for pitching help since Mike Trout was a rookie while the Rangers just seem to have a mix of veterans and they hope they’ll all have big seasons at the same time. Even though they got off to a fantastic start the Seattle Mariners weren’t going to be a payoff team this season and they won’t be a playoff team for the foreseeable future as they just started to tear down this team.

Obviously we’re quite a ways away from next season; so this could all change due to free agent signings and injuries, but even with those moves I’m not sure how much this would change. I believe that there are only a few American League teams that could improve enough to challenge for a playoff spot next season and I wouldn’t be surprised at all if we see the same American League teams in the playoffs next season as this season.

Now the National League is a completely different story. Remember not too long ago there where seven teams that still had a chance at a wild card spot. It seems like the only thing that looks like it might play out the same in the National League next season as it did this season is the Los Angeles Dodgers winning the NL West. There are multiple contenders in the NL East and NL Central; so those divisions should be up for grabs next season.

In the end what I’m wondering is if this is good for baseball if the American League plays out the same next season. Will fans of the rebuilding teams get bored with the fact that there is no movement in the division and wild card races or will they continue to support their team as they pile up losses as they go through those rebuilds?

You can listen to the Sports Time Radio podcast live on BlogTalkRadio.com, but if you do miss the podcast live just head on over to TuneIn.com and you can listen to the podcast  any time you want.

You can follow me on Twitter @Burketime