At this point, it's mostly about the Fight for Second Place. Not just in the AL East, either.
AL East - Boston leads Toronto by two games. The two teams have four games left against each other, and they'll be played at the RC. Both teams have struggled on the road this year, which is a slight edge for the Blue Jays. Toronto plays 7 of its final 19 games against the Yankees, whose primary focus will be on getting ready for the post-season. If it comes down to the final week, big edge to the Red Sox. They'll have Tampa Bay and Baltimore coming to Fenway. The Blue Jays will be on the road visiting first place teams.
BOSTON (8 Home, 11 Away)
at Baltimore (3)
at New York (4)
Minnesota (3)
at Toronto (4)
Tampa Bay (2)
Baltimore (3)
TORONTO (10 Home, 9 Away)
at Seattle (3)
Tampa Bay (3)
New York (3)
Boston (4)
at Detroit (3)
at New York (3)
AL Central - Detroit's lead is down to just 2 games on Minnesota. The Tigers have lots of games left at home, which would be much better news if they didn't have any home-road split to speak of. The good news for Detroit? Six games with Kansas City and four games with Baltimore. Minnesota also has four games left with the Royals; they also play 10 of their remaining 20 games at home. The Twins have more home wins than any team in the majors. The White Sox play 12 of their remaining 19 on the road. They play both Detroit and Minnesota; before that, they're on the West Coast where the Angels are trying desperately to stay alive and Oakland is trying to seal the deal. The defending champs are in a mess of trouble. It's all going to conclude with the White Sox in Minnesota for three games on the final weekend.
DETROIT (11 Home, 7 Away)
Texas (2)
Baltimore (3)
at Chicago (3)
at Baltimore (1)
at Kansas City (3)
Toronto (3)
Kansas City (3)
CHICAGO (7 Home, 12 Away)
at LA Angels (3)
at Oakland (3)
Detroit (3)
Seattle (4)
at Cleveland (3)
at Minnesota (3)
MINNESOTA (10 Home, 10 Away)
Oakland (3)
at Cleveland (4)
at Boston (3)
at Baltimore (3)
Kansas City (4)
Chicago (3)
AL West - It's over. What you see is what you get. Oakland wins the division, the Angels are second but not in the Wild Card hunt. Buck Showalter will get fired, and Texas will win the 2007 World Series.
NL East - The Marlins and Phillies are in a dead heat. They're fighting it out for second place in the division, and the NL Wild Card. As it stands, they're both two games behind San Diego. The Marlins and Phillies play each other six times in these final three weeks, which can only be regarded as good news for San Diego. The Phillies have a softer path to tread otherwise, with the Cubs, the Nats and what must surely be a depressed and disappointed group of Braves on the schedule. The Marlins have seven games with the Mets; while the New Yorkers will mainly be concerned with sorting out their starting pitching, they're also a much better team.
PHILADELPHIA (Home 7, Away 12)
at Atlanta (3)
at Houston (3)
Chicago (3)
Florida (3)
Houston (1)
at Washington (3)
at Florida (3)
FLORIDA (Home 9, Away (10)
New York (3)
at Atlanta (3)
at New York (4)
at Philadelphia (3)
Cincinnati (3)
Philadelphia (3)
NL Central - The Reds and Astros are still alive in the Wild Card chase, even if neither has managed to win as many games as they've lost. The Reds trail San Diego by three games; Houston trails by three and a half. San Francisco, Philadelphia, and Florida are all ahead of the NL Central teams as well. So the only hope either of these teams has is to Catch Fire right now. The Reds have to play 13 of their final 20 on the road, which is the bad news. The good news is that more than half of their remaining games are against the Cubs and Pirates. As for the Astros - they play St. Louis seven times in the last three weeks. If they win five or six of those games, the NL Central will have one wild finish.
HOUSTON (10 Home, 10 Away)
at St. Louis (3)
Philadelphia (3)
Cincinnati (3)
St. Louis (4)
at Philadelphia (1)
at Pittsburgh (3)
at Atlanta (3)
CINCINNATI (7 Home, 13 Away)
San Diego (3)
at Chicago (3)
at Houston (3)
Chicago (4)
at Florida (3)
at Pittsburgh (4)
NL West - The Dodgers lead is down to a single game in the loss column, but the schedule-makers have been kind. The Padres spend most of the final three weeks on the road. San Diego is the second best road team in the NL, but they also have to go into Dodger Stadium for four games this week. The Dodgers are tough in their own park, and this week's set could go some ways towards settling matters between these two teams. Otherwise, the Dodgers play 12 of their next 16 games against teams with losing records. The Giants have one road trip remaining, a nine game swing through the mid-west. The season ends with three games at Pac Bell against the Dodgers. It may matter.
LOS ANGELES (10 Home, 9 Away)
at Chicago (3)
San Diego (4)
Pittsburgh (3)
Arizona (3)
at Colorado (3)
at San Francisco (3)
SAN DIEGO (6 Home, 14 Away)
at Cincinnati (3)
at Los Angeles (4)
Arizona (3)
Pittsburgh (3)
at St. Louis (3)
at Arizona (4)
SAN FRANCISCO (9 Home, 10 Away)
Colorado (3)
at St. Louis (3)
at Colorado (3)
at Milwaukee (4)
Arizona (3)
Los Angeles (3)
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