Ruling pushes White Sox out of Fourth Division

We needed a special ruling in 2015 to dig up two teams to promote from the Fourth Division. As a result, the Chicago White Sox finally have escaped. along with the New York Mets.

The Fourth Division is always a little difficult to figure, and the 2015 race even required a special ruling.

We dislike special rulings and hope to have everything covered in the rules, but new contingencies arise in new enterprises like this.

The problem with the Fourth Division is that it's desirable to promote two teams (that is, after all, the practice), but the Fourth Division often doesn't have two teams that can make a strong case for promotion. Quite often, one team will wipe out the Fourth Division and leave no one else with a winning record.

With only six teams in the Fourth Division, games already are harder to come by, and the 2015 six came from five different Major League divisions. In the larger and higher divisions, there is more crowding and more games because of it. So, in those divisions, it is required that no team can be promoted without at least 10 wins, no team can be demoted without at least 10 losses, and any team being promoted or relegated must face at least three other teams within that division.

In the Fourth Division, being smaller, we say its necessary to play at least two of the other clubs in the division. What of the win requirement? The 10-win requirement never was really tested until the end of 2015.

Until then, we said that a team that doesn't win 10 within the Fourth Division can't be promoted unless it has won at least 70 percent of its games and there is no other team with at least 10 wins and at least a .500 record to be promoted in its place.

Ending 2015, though, neither of those conditions held.

So, we had the Chicago White Sox, 8-4 in the Fourth Division and clearly the leading team. If the White Sox had just won one more game to go 9-3, there would be no decision here, but 8-4 is just less than 70 percent.

It's murky in the Fourth Division, and it's hard to get out of there. The Baltimore Orioles and Pittsburgh Pirates were in the original Fourth Division in 2010 and it took them each three years to escape. The Kansas City Royals were a Fourth Division original needing four years to escape. The Houston Astros fell to the Fourth Division in 2011 and they're still not getting out. The White Sox fell to the Fourth Division in 2012 and they're just now getting out with a special ruling.

The Orioles and Mets are original Fourth Division clubs that found their way out and back. In 2014, for example, the Orioles were in the Third Division, battling with the Kansas City Royals for promotion to the Second Division. But when the two clubs met in the American League Championship Series, the Royals won a four-game sweep, pushing themselves up to the second tier and pushing the Orioles back into the Third Division basement and demotion back to the Fourth Division.

The Royals are moving up to the First Division in 2016 after splitting the Second Division title in 2015. Meanwhile, the Orioles are doomed to another Fourth Division season in 2016.

Elsewhere in the Fourth Division, the New York Mets are 16-13 in 2015, clearly receiving a promotion to the Third Division in 2016. But the Mets were the second-place team (.583). What about the first-place team?

Who would you promote instead of the White Sox? In third place, we had the San Diego Padres, 9-7. They present the same questions as the White Sox, except their record isn't as good. In fourth place, we had the Houston Astros, 8-8, hardly the breakout season we have seen in the Major League race. Next down, it's the Miami Marlins at 12-17 and the Baltimore Orioles at 8-12. Can't promote either of them.

So, the White Sox will join the Mets in promotion. And the promotion policy will remain as stated above, with one addendum: If there is no team with fewer than 10 wins and a winning percentage of 70 percent or better, and there is no team with at least 10 wins and a .500 record, then a team with fewer than 10 wins and a winning percentage of .600 or better will receive preference for promotion.

A rule change, which is being considered, would lower the promotional requirement to eight wins within the Fourth Division. Supporters of the change say it would be a more realistic measure of promotional merit in a smaller division. Opponents say the 10-win requirement promotes excellence.

We're not sure what promoting excellence is supposed to do with the Fourth Division, but we cite the Oakland Athletics, who were 25-7 in the Fourth Division in 2013. No one else in the Fourth Division had a winning record that year and the second promotion went to the Royals, who were 17-17. So, the A's and Royals went to the Third Division in 2014.

And it was interesting how the Third Division shook out in 2014. Pittsburgh came in as the clear winner at 25-11. At the end of the regular season, Kansas City was second at 11-10, but the A's (17-17) were right there, as were the Orioles (13-14).

As it happened, the American League playoff race took the Athletics to Kansas City for that year's wild card game in the American League. The Royals won, as everyone knows, and they later swept the Orioles, dropping them to last place in the division at 13-18.

So, with that wild card game, the fortunes for the Royals and A's changed a lot. The A's came back in 2015 as the last-place team in the Third Division, which means their immediate future is somewhere down below. They will be joined in the 2016 Fourth Division by the Colorado Rockies.

Royals complete quick climb to top tier

It took the Kansas City Royals a few years to get moving in the promotion and relegation arrangement, but they finally made it all the way up to the First Division for 2016 by splitting the Second Division title with the Texas Rangers in 2015.

The Kansas City Royals were one of the original Fourth Division clubs when this accounting began in 2010, and they were the last team to escape the dungeon, advancing as the second-place team in 2013.

But when the Royals did advance, they advanced quickly. All the way to the First Division in two years, the shortest possible climb.

The Royals earned their First Division stripes for 2016 by splitting the Second Division title with the Texas Rangers in 2015. The Rangers finished 17-10 (.630) for the leading percentage, but the Royals (35-27, .565) finished one-half game up in the games behind column.

Thus, the Rangers and the Royals are the two teams gaining promotion for 2016. Replacing them in the Second Division for 2016 are the Angels and the Atlanta Braves, both of which were demoted from the First Division.

Kansas City spent 2010 through 2013 in the Fourth Division, seemingly with no chance to escape until it finished second in 2013. In 2014, the Royals rallied to finished second in the Third Division and gain another promotion, sweeping the Baltimore Orioles in a four-game American League Championship Series to secure that raise.

The Cincinnati Reds and Detroit Tigers both tumbled through the Second Division standings in the final two months of 2015 and finished in the bottom two. The Reds and Tigers are relegated to the Third Division for 2016. Rising from the Third Division to the Second Division are the Boston Red Sox and the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Long Cubs rally captures Central League crown

None of our regional leagues had more strong clubs at the top in 2015 than the Center League. The Cubs staged a furious rally from the end of July through the playoffs to capture the championship.

 

The Chicago Cubs rallied from nowhere to win the Center League in 2015, covering eight games in just more than two months and putting themselves over the top with a strong showing in the National League playoffs.

On the morning of July 31, the Cubs were 27-27 in the Center League, 7½ games off the pace set by the Kansas City Royals (37-22), who led the St. Louis Cardinals (36-23) by a game. Even the Detroit Tigers (33-27) were ahead of the Cubs.

But the Cubs mounted a fierce rally through the final two months, capping the regular season with eight consecutive wins to come up 56-40, bringing themselves to within one game of the Cardinals and Cubs, both 57-39.

The Cubs then took care of their business, given a chance during the playoffs, which gave them two Center League foes. Beating the Pittsburgh Pirates in one game, then winning three of four from the Cardinals in the National League divisional series, the Cubs surpassed the Cardinals and the Royals, who did not have Center League opposition during the playoffs.

The Cubs wound up winning the Center League, dramatically, by a one-half game over the Royals and Cardinals.

Bosox welcome Dombrowski with Aaron

The Henry Aaron Award and David Dombrowski arrived in Boston right at the same. With Dombrowski taking over as President of Baseball Operations for the Red Sox, the hub club has popped up with enough unlikely heroics to mount a second Aaron defense, and against the Kansas City Royals, even.

New Boston Red Sox baseball chief David Dombrowski doesn't have to like everything he's seeing from his club this week, but he has to be liking the wins (Cathleen Carrigan/Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license). 

As it happens, the Boston Red Sox began a defense of the Henry Aaron Award on Monday, and David Dombrowski arrived in Boston a day later. 

Not to say that prosperity comes in pairs, but the Red Sox made their first successful defense of the Aaron right as Dombrowski took the reigns as their President of Baseball Operations. Coincidence? You decide. (Hint: it is.)

Coincidence or not, it's still the high point of a disappointing Red Sox season. By the accounts, Ben Cherrington did everything as well as he could and as right as he could as the club's general manager before stepping down right after the Dombrowski hire. However, bringing Hanley Ramirez as the left fielder and Pablo Sandoval as the third baseman to a team playing half of its games in Fenway Park looked like a bad fit on paper, and it looks even worse on the field.

Even worse than that, though, is the Red Sox pitching staff. The Red Sox have one pitcher on the roster right now with any kind of achievement this season, reliever Koji Uehara. As a staff, the Red Sox entered Friday's games with a 4.59 ERA, nearly two-thirds of a run higher than the American League ERA of 3.94.

In their 121 games entering Friday, the Red Sox allowed 592 runs. If they had just a league average pitching staff/defense, they would have allowed 508 runs in those games and the team's Pythagorean expectation would be 63-58 instead of 56-65 (the Red Sox actually were 55-66). At 63-58, the Red Sox would be tied with the Angels for the second American League wildcard.

So, pitching has killed the Red Sox, and we can be sure that having Sandoval and Ramirez defend the left side against the opposing right-handed lineups recommended by Fenway Park hasn't helped. 

And it might even get worse for the Red Sox. Now, they don't have Clay Buchholz for the rest of the year, and he was pretty good (7-7, 3.26 ERA in 18 starts).

It's anybody's guess what Dombrowski will do now with the Red Sox, though upgrades for the pitching and defense are pretty clear priorities. Then again, it's anybody's guess why Detroit Tigers owner Mike Illitch let Dombrowski go less than three weeks ago, making Dombrowski available to the Red Sox. 

The Tigers won the American League Central four consecutive times before this season. This year, three circumstances overtook them. 

First, the Kansas City Royals. Second, the Tigers, in effect, and by various causes, lost big-time starting pitchers Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander this year, and replaced them with only one, David Price, acquired at the trade deadline last year. So, the Tigers needed to replace a 10-games-over-.500 starting pitcher. If all you've got in replacement is a 10-games-under-.500 pitcher, that's costing your club 20 games. If all you've got is a .500 pitcher, that's still 10 games. So (and third), the Tigers were looking for that top pitcher at the trade deadline and, when they saw what the Royals gave for Johnny Cueto, they knew they couldn't play in that market.

Dombrowski then recommended the sensible course to Illitch. Punt. You can't expect to score a touchdown every time you have the ball. When you have that bad year, you have to salvage it. And the Tigers did, particularly in their subsequent trade of Price to the Toronto Blue Jays.

Everyone knows Illitch wants to win the World Series before he dies, and he's 86, so he doesn't have forever. But it does seem that showing Dombrowski the door for this one poor season is a tad impulsive. Illitch might complain that when you look at the Royals doing what they're doing with a $113.6 million payroll, then the Tigers have plenty enough resources to win with their payroll of $173.8 million. But would an 86-year-old Illitch put up with the losing Kansas City has endured to develop its less expensive contender?

Anyway, Dombrowski never particularly had to worry about money with the Tigers, and that's not going to be a problem for him in Boston, either. 

Right now, his problem is pitching. And left-side defense.

But those problems haven't slowed the Red Sox on this present run with the Henry Aaron Award, which began when they took two-of-three from the Seattle Mariners at Fenway Park Aug. 14-16 to capture the prize.

The Red Sox put the Aaron on the line against the visiting Cleveland Indians in a three-game set that started Monday with a 8-2 loss. The next day, though, the Red Sox introduced Dombrowski, the immortals Mookie Betts, Brock Holt and Blake Swihart each drove in two or more runs and Eduardo Rodriguez pitched an uncharacteristic good game (eight innings, one run) in a 9-1 victory. Then, the Red Sox won the rubber game on Wednesday, 6-4. The key was a four-run fourth inning featuring a three-run homer by Jackie Bradley, Jr., and a solo blast by Ryan Hanigan.

If you don't see the Red Sox' future in all of those names, you're probably not alone. Then again, they were playing the Indians.

But now the Red Sox have won the first two of a four-game series in Fenway against the Royals, enough to defend it once again.

Thursday, the Red Sox took the opener from the Royals, 4-1. The six, seven and eight hitters (Travis Shaw, Hanigan and Bradley) drove in all the runs and Lefty Wade Miley horsed up with 7 1/3 innings, allowing only one run. 

The Red Sox won again Friday, 7-2, roughing up Cueto with 13 hits in six innings. The bottom four Red Sox hitters (Rusney Castillo, Shaw, Swihart and Josh Rutledge) scored all the runs and drove in four of them.

In the last two days, then, the Red Sox won when their mediocre pitchers put up good games and their low-order hitters beat up Corey Kluber and Cueto. Probably not the formula the Red Sox can count upon long-term, but it's good for now, and it is bringing the Red Sox their best moments of this season.

Assuming the Red Sox hang on in this title defense, that will bring them up to two defenses and assure them of more than 10 games holding the title.

Can they make a run with it and challenge the Dodgers on top of the standings?

At this point, they've got nothing better to do.

Henry Aaron Award
Standings through games of August 21
	W	L	P	T	G	D	A
DODGERS	15	10	8	1	22	6	7
San Francisco	15	15	8	1	17	4	6
ANGELS	14	5	6	1	16	4	5
Texas	12	10	7	2	16	3	5
San Diego	10	7	5	1	13	3	4
Boston	9	9	6	2	8	1	2
Baltimore	7	6	4	1	7	1	1
Pittsburgh	6	3	3	1	6	1	2
Seattle	7	6	4	1	6	1	2
Milwaukee	5	7	4	1	6	1	2
Kansas City	5	4	4	1	5	1	2
Washington	2	2	1	0	0	0	0
Colorado	6	10	5	0	0	0	0
Arizona	2	7	3	0	0	0	0
New York (AL)	2	2	1	0	0	0	0
Chicago (NL)	1	2	1	0	0	0	0
Miami	1	2	1	0	0	0	0
Minnesota	1	2	1	0	0	0	0
Atlanta	3	4	2	0	0	0	0
Cleveland	1	5	2	0	0	0	0
Houston	0	3	1	0	0	0	0

Numbers in bold indicate league leaders.

W — Wins. L — Losses. P — Times played for title. T — Titles won. G — Number of games that team held title after winning it. D — Title defenses. A — Title defense attempts. Standings are given in order of games holding the title.

2015 Henry Aaron Award results 
(There is no tiebreaker for the Aaron. The champion keeps it unless the challenger wins outright. However, the runs are given for series ending in ties).

San Francisco 2, Arizona 1 — April 6-8 at Arizona.
San Diego 3, San Francisco 1 — April 10-12 at San Diego.
San Diego 2, Arizona 1 — April 13-15 at San Diego.
San Diego 2, Chicago (NL) 1 — April 17-19 at Chicago.
San Diego 2, Colorado 2 — April 20-23 at Denver (San Diego, 26-16).
DODGERS 2, San Diego 1 — April 24-26 at San Diego.
DODGERS 2, San Francisco 1 — April 27-29 at Los Angeles.
DODGERS 3, Arizona 0 — May 1-3 at Los Angeles.
DODGERS 2, Milwaukee 2 — May 4-7 at Milwaukee (DODGERS, 28-16).
DODGERS 2, Colorado 0 — May 8-10 at Colorado.
DODGERS 2, Miami 1 — May 11-13 at Los Angeles.
DODGERS 2, Colorado 2 — May 14-17 (Colorado, 16-12).
San Francisco 3, DODGERS 0 — May 19-21 at San Francisco.
San Francisco 2, Colorado 2 — May 22-24 at Denver (Colorado, 31-26).
San Francisco 3, Milwaukee 0 — May 25-27 at Milwaukee.
San Francisco 2, Atlanta 2 — May 28-31 at San Francisco (Atlanta, 17-16).
Pittsburgh 3, San Francisco 0 — June 1-3 at San Francisco.
Pittsburgh 2, Atlanta 1 — June 5-7 at Atlanta.
Milwaukee 2, Pittsburgh 1 — June 8-10 at Pittsburgh.
Milwaukee 2, Washington 2 — June 11-14 at Milwaukee (Washington, 20-16).
Kansas City 2, Milwaukee 0 — June 15-16 at Milwaukee.
Kansas City 2, Milwaukee 0 — June 17-18 at Kansas City.
Boston 2, Kansas City 1 — June 19-21 at Kansas City.
Baltimore 2, Boston 1 — June 23-25 at Boston.
Baltimore 3, Cleveland 0 — June 26-28 at Baltimore.
Texas 3, Baltimore 1 — June 29-July 2 at Baltimore.
ANGELS 3, Texas 0 — July 3-5 at Arlington.
ANGELS 2, Colorado 0 — July 7-8 at Denver.
ANGELS 2, Seattle 2 — July 9-12 at Seattle (Angels, 20-19).
ANGELS 4, Boston 0 — July 17-20 at Anaheim.
ANGELS 2, Minnesota 1 — July 21-23 at Anaheim.
Texas 2, ANGELS 1 — July 24-26 at Anaheim.
Texas 2, New York (AL) 2 — July 27-30 at Arlington (New York, 35-19).
Texas 2, San Francisco 1 — July 31-August 2 at Arlington.
Texas 3, Houston 0 — August 3-5 at Arlington.
Seattle 2, Texas 1 — August 7-9 at Seattle.
Seattle 2, Baltimore 1 — August 10-12 at Seattle.
Boston 2, Seattle 1 — August 14-16 at Boston.
Boston 2, Cleveland 1 — August 17-19,at Boston.
Boston 2, Kansas City 0 — August 20-21, at Boston, continuing.

Yankees, Twins meet in huge Killebrew series

The Minnesota Twins still lead the Harmon Killebrew Award standings after a big run of wins early this season. However, the New York Yankees are coming on strong and now have three Killebrews this year, the most of any team. Now that the Yankees have defended the Killebrew by winning the first two games of their series with the Twins this week, it remains to be seen if they will use this chance to overtake the Twins in the overall standings.

Glory in the Harmon Killebrew is one of few distinctions to escape the New York Yankees during their illustrious history, but manager Joe Girardi is trying to change that (Keith Allison/Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license).

By BILL PETERSON
Big Leagues in Los Angeles

It's only mid-August, and we can't predict the future, but something tells us that this week's series between the Minnesota Twins and the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium will tell us a lot about how the Harmon Killebrew Award shakes out for 2015.

The Twins and Yankees entered this week as the top two clubs in the Killebrew standings, and that situation will be unchanged at the end of this week. The Twins have two titles and 22 games of title defense. But the Yankees are coming, They won the opener Monday night, 8-7 win 11 innings, then trounced the Twins, 8-4, Tuesday to clinch a title defense. Now, the Yankees are second to the Twins with 16 games of title defense, but they still have it and they can keep adding.

With this weeks wins, the Yankees are in position to pile up victories in the Killebrew and, perhaps, surpass the totals the Twins still have on their side. The Twins could have fortified their league-leading performance by taking the Killebrew from the Yankees and adding from there.

The Yankees are having their best year with the Killebrew Award, which is to say little for their past performances. Their three Killebrews this year match their all-time totals from 2011 through 2014. But they didn't even once defend the titles they won in 2013 and 2014, and they didn't even win one in 2012. And, in fact, they didn't defend the Killebrew they won this May 7-10 by taking three of four from the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium.

However, the Yankees won the Killebrew in a four-game split against the Texas Rangers July 27-30 (the Yankees won on total runs, 35-19, largely because of a 21-5 win on July 28), then defended it against the Chicago White Sox and the Boston Red Sox before losing it in a three-game sweep against the Toronto Blue Jays Aug. 7-9.

The Yankees regained the Killebrew by winning two of three against the Blue Jays last weekend, just in time for the Twins to visit Yankee Stadium. The Twins built their lead in the Killebrew standings early. They have played for it only once since they last lost it on June 10. By June 10, though, the Twins had two titles and one run of four title defenses, still the longest such streak of the season for the Killebrew.

The Twins were looking at this time last year like they might walk away with the Killebrew, despite their otherwise lackluster season. But the Cleveland Indians pried the award from the Twins September 19-21, then the Kansas City Royals immediately took it from the Indians before running four strong title defenses that took it all the way through the American League playoffs.

The Royals ended up the Team of the Year in the Killebrew with a 27-16 record, four titles, 27 games of title defense and a six-for-nine showing in title defenses. The Twins finished 21-22 with five titles and 22 games of title defense, succeeding in only two of seven title defenses.

Harmon Killebrew Award
	W	L	P	T	G	D	A
Minnesota	17	16	11	2	22	5	7
New York	14	12	8	3	16	3	5
ANGELS	12	8	6	1	14	3	4
Baltimore	9	8	5	2	13	2	3
Kansas City	13	7	7	2	11	2	5
Texas	7	7	4	2	7	0	2
Tampa Bay	5	5	3	1	3	0	1
Boston	6	13	5	1	3	0	1
Chicago	3	7	4	1	1	0	1
Seattle	2	2	1	0	0	0	0
Toronto	8	4	4	1	6	1	2
Cleveland	1	5	2	0	0	0	0

Numbers in bold indicate league leaders.

W — Wins. L — Losses. P — Times played for title. T — Titles won. G — Number of games that team held title after winning it. D — Title defenses. A — Title defense attempts. Standings are given in order of games holding the title.

2015 Harmon Killebrew Award results
(Total runs tiebreaker given if series ends in a tie.)

Kansas City 3, Chicago 0 — April 6-9 at Kansas City.
Kansas City 3, ANGELS 0 — April 10-12 at Anaheim.
Minnesota 2, Kansas City 1 — April 13-16 at Minneapolis.
Minnesota 2, Cleveland 1 — April 17-19 at Minneapolis.
Kansas City 2, Minnesota 1 — April 20-22 at Kansas City.
Chicago 2, Kansas City 1 — April 23-26 at Chicago.
Baltimore 1, Chicago 0 — April 29 at Baltimore.
Baltimore 2, Tampa Bay 1 — May 1-3 at Tampa Bay.
New York 3, Baltimore 1 — May 7-10 at New York.
Tampa Bay 3, New York 1 — May 11-14 at Tampa Bay.
Minnesota 2, Tampa Bay 1 — May 15-17 at Minneapolis.
Minnesota 2, Chicago 1 — May 22-24 at Chicago.
Minnesota 3, Boston 0 — May 25-27 at Minneapolis.
Minnesota 2, Toronto 1 — May 29-31 at Minneapolis.
Minnesota 2, Boston 2 — June 2-4 at Boston (Minnesota, 13-11).
Kansas City 3, Minnesota 0 — June 8-10 at Minneapolis.
Boston 2, Kansas City 1 — June 19-21 at Kansas City.
Baltimore 2, Boston 1 — June 23-25 at Boston.
Baltimore 3, Cleveland 0 — June 26-28 at Baltimore.
Texas 3, Baltimore 1 — June 29-July 2 at Baltimore.
ANGELS 3, Texas 0 — July 3-5 at Arlington.
ANGELS 2, Seattle 2 — July 9-12 at Seattle (Angels, 20-19).
ANGELS 4, Boston 0 — July 17-20 at Anaheim.
ANGELS 2, Minnesota 1 — July 21-23 at Anaheim.
Texas 2, ANGELS 1 — July 24-26 at Anaheim.
New York 2, Texas 2 — July 27-30 at Arlington (New York 35-19).
New York 2, Chicago 1 — July 31-August 2 at Chicago.
New York 2, Boston 1 — August 4-6 at New York.
Toronto 3, New York 0 — August 7-9 at New York.
Toronto 3, Oakland 0 — August 11-13 at Toronto.
New York 2, Toronto 1 — August 13-15 at Toronto.
New York 2, Minnesota 0 — August 16-17, at New York, continuing, though Yankees have clinched.

(Editor's note: This story and the standings were revised late Tuesday night to reflect that the Yankees won and clinched the title defense.)

Race is on, to the top and from the bottom

The Second Division is shaping up as a tight race to the top and away from the bottom in the final few weeks of the season. The Kansas City Royals and Texas Rangers are the top clubs bucking for promotion right now, with the Cincinnati Reds in the best position to overtake one of them before it all ends.

Can Joey Votto lead the Cincinnati Reds to a First Division promotion? (BubbaFan/Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license).

By BILL PETERSON
Big Leagues in Los Angeles

Of all the competitions across this ersatz universe we're cooking up here, none is tighter than the race for promotion to the First Division for 2016.

Right now, the front runners for those coveted top two spots in the Second Division are the Texas Rangers and the Kansas City Royals. The Rangers have the top percentage at .600 (12-8), but the Royals (27-20, .574) lead in the games column by 1½. The top two clubs by percentage are promoted, unless one team wins by percentage and a different club wins by games, in which case those are the clubs promoted.

Sometimes, the rules will bite a team, like the Angels in 2012, but the Angels bounced back and other clubs can do that, too.

It remains that anything can happen in the Second Division, in which the eight clubs are separated by five games. Additionally, most of the clubs still have around 20 games remaining, so there's much left to shake.

Of the clubs looking to gun up and overtake the Rangers or Royals, the Cincinnati Reds are in the best position. The Reds are 17-17 (.500), with the New York Yankees (12-11, .522) right ahead of them. But the Yankees have only four games remaining in this tier, a set at home against the Cleveland Indians later this month. The Reds have 18 games left.

The Yankees almost have to sweep their remaining games against the Indians for any chance at promotion. If the Reds can win two-thirds of their remaining games, they would finish 29-23 (.558), while the Yankees would be 15-12 (.556) if they win only three of their remaining four against Cleveland.

In those events, the Reds still would need the Rangers or Royals to drop a bit, and they would need the clubs beneath them to stay cool.

All the Rangers have remaining is seven games against Detroit. If the Rangers win only three of those, they would finish 15-12 (.556). Then, we have the Royals, who, at this moment, are .602 across their Major League schedule and .574 in the Second Division. The Royals have 15 games left in the Second Division. If the Royals win eight of them, they finish .565, but if they win only seven, they come in .548.

So, the Reds have some wood to chop, and they also need the clubs in front of them to be a little less than even down the stretch. At the same time, the Reds are in clear danger of demotion. That's the fate of the bottom two clubs in the Second Division, which both fall to the Third Division in 2016.

Right now, the Tigers, Indians, Pittsburgh Pirates and Milwaukee Brewers all are at or within a half-game of the demotion zone, but the Reds are only a game better than that.

Taking the bottom club in this group, the Brewers, they would have to win two-thirds of their remaining 18 games to finish 26-23 (.531). That probably wouldn't make them promotion material, but it would keep them safely in the Second Division for another year.

In short runs of games, though, wild fluctuations are always in play. During the course of 162 games, no one is going to win three out of four. Over the course of 18 games, it happens all the time.

So, buckle up. We won't be hearing much from any of these clubs, except for the Royals and the Pirates, in the Major League playoff scrum. But in the Second Division, they've all got a lot still on the line.

Second Division standings (through August 12)

	W	L	Pct.	GB
Texas	10	6	.600	1½
Kansas City	27	20	.574	—
New York (AL)	12	11	.522	3
Cincinnati	17	17	.500	3½
Detroit	21	23	.477	4½
Cleveland	20	23	.465	5
Pittsburgh	17	20	.459	5
Milwaukee	14	17	.452	5

Remaining games

Cincinnati (18 games): August 18-19, two at home against Kansas City; August 24, one at home against Detroit; Augut 28-30, three at Milwaukee; September 4-6, three at home against Milwaukee; September 7-9, three at home against Pittsburgh; September 18-20, three at Milwaukee; October 2-4, three at Pittsburgh.

Cleveland (20 games): August 20-23, four at New York (AL); August 25-26, two at home against Milwaukee; September 4-6, three at Detroit; September 10-13, four at home against Detroit; September 14-17, three at home against Kansas City; September 25-27, three at Kansas City.

Detroit (21 games): August 20-23, four at Texas; August 24, one at Cincinnati; September 1-3, three at Kansas City; September4-6, three at home against Cleveland; September 10-13, four at Cleveland; September 18-20, three at Kansas City; September 28-30, three at Texas.

Kansas City (15 games): August 18-19, two at Cincinnati; September 1-3, three at Detroit; September 14-17, four at Cleveland; September 18-20, three at Detroit; September 25-27, three at home against Cleveland.

Milwaukee (18 games): August 25-26, two at Cleveland; August 28-30, three at home against Cincinnati; September 1-3, three at home against Pittsburgh; September 4-6, three at Cincinnati; September 10-13, four at Pittsburgh; September 18-20, three at Cincinnati.

New York (AL) (four games): August 20-23, four at home against Cleveland.

Pittsburgh (13 games): September 1-3, three at Milwaukee; September 7-9, three at Cincinnati; September 10-13, four at home against Milwaukee; October 2-4, three at home against Cincinnati.

Texas (seven games): August 20-23, four at Detroit; September 28-30, three at home against Detroit.

Second Division: Reds remain in running

By nearly every measure, the Cincinnati Reds are having a difficult season. But they remain strong in the running for promotion to the First Division in 2016 after a walk-off win in the 13th inning Wednesday night against the Detroit Tigers.

Cincinnati Reds third baseman Todd Frazier says he belongs in the All-Star Game, and it's hard to argue with him (NewJack984/Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license).

By BILL PETERSON

Big Leagues in Los Angeles

The last year hasn't been an especially gratifying experience for fans of the Cincinnati Reds, who have seen their favorites fall from contender at the 2014 All-Star break to dismal also-ran under the leadership of manager Bryan Price.

Price has supplied most of the drama for the Reds this year through meltdowns, which have included a profane tirade born of complete ignorance concerning the beat reporter's responsibilities, wandered through a bizarre episode in which the umpires threw him out one day during the exchange of lineups, and stumbled here and there through odd decisions about player utilization.

Only the All-Star performance of third baseman Todd Frazier and the jaw-dropping inadequacy of the Milwaukee Brewers have saved the Reds from the National League Central basement. 

At the All-Star break last season, the Reds were 51-44, 1½ games out of first place in the NL Central. And they had injuries, sure, but they also rolled over in the second half, going 25-42 for the balance of the season. That dive earned the Reds a demotion from the First Division to the Second Division for 2015. When a team rolls over like that, you have to look at the manager.

But the Reds didn't, and now they're 30-35, 13 games out of first place in the NL Central division, and that's after a dramatic, 8-4 win in 13 innings at home against the Detroit Tigers Wednesday night, combined with a loss by the St. Louis Cardinals in Minnesota.

Since the 2014 All-Star break, they are 55-77, a .417 winning percentage that prorates to 68 wins over a 162-game season. That's a last-place team.

But there is hope for the Reds. As badly as this season has gone, they are in the thick of it for promotion to the First Division in 2016 with their competitive performance this season in the Second Division.

The Texas Rangers (10-6) and Kansas City Royals (19-15) lead the Second Division in the games behind column, but the Reds (12-9) are only one-half game behind. By percentage points, the Reds are in second place at .571, trailing Texas (.625), but ahead of Kansas City (.558). The Tigers (15-14) and New York Yankees (7-6) both are one game behind the Reds.

The top two Second Division teams win promotion for next year. The percentage column usually makes that determination, but if one team wins by percentage and the other wins by the games behind column, then those are the two clubs to be promoted.

The Reds have plenty of time left to earn their promotion, as the Second Division includes two other clubs — the Pittsburgh Pirates and Milwaukee Brewers — that are with them in the National League Central division.

Frazier's walk-off grand slam in the 13th inning Wednesday night gave the Reds their huge victory to keep them in the thick of the Second Division race. For the season, Frazier is batting .294 with 19 doubles, 22 homers, a .639 slugging percentage and a 1.000 OPS. On the Reds postgame television interview, Frazier said he deserves to be on the National League All-Star team. There was no cockiness about it. No coyness, either. Nor should there be.

Henry Aaron Award: Royals move prize to AL

The Kansas City Royals have become the first American League club to hold the Henry Aaron Award this year, thanks to their dominance over the Milwaukee Brewers this week. The Royals also happen to hold the Harmon Killebrew Award, making them the first double champions this season.

Kansas City Royals left-hander Jason Vargas got his team off right in a Harmon Killebrew series last week in Minneapolis with six shutout innings. Vargas has since gone on the disabled list (Jeff Dunn [UCinternational crop]/Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license).

By BILL PETERSON

Big Leagues in Los Angeles

A recent run of victories has enriched the Kansas City Royals in ways that they don't even know.

With their three-game sweep of the Minnesota Twins last week and a two-game sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers this week, both on the road, the Royals became the first team this season to simultaneously hold the Harmon Killebrew Award and the Henry Aaron Award.

The Aaron, of course, is the traveling trophy that crosses the two Major Leagues, while the Killebrew is the traveling trophy that stays in the American League. The Royals also are the first American League club this season to hold the Aaron Award. Although the Aaron had been in the National League for the entire season until the Royals nabbed it this week, no club has at the same time held the Aaron and the Dick Allen Award, which is the traveling trophy that stays in the National League.

The Royals went to Minneapolis June 8-10 and won three straight to take the Killebrew Award from the Twins, who had held it for four consecutive defenses. In addition to giving the Royals the Killebrew Award, the three-game sweep had the more obvious virtue of giving the Royals a two-game lead on the Twins in the American League Central division.

Credit three terrific starts from the Royals rotation. Jason Vargas began it with six shutout innings in a 3-1 win, Chris Young followed with 6 1/3 shutout innings in a 2-0 win, then Edinson Volquez gave up one run while striking out seven in a 7-2 win to close out the series.

The Twins and Royals are shaping up as the principle players in the race for Team of the Year in the Killebrew. The Twins still lead the overall standings with 16 wins and 22 games of title defense, but the Royals now are 13-5 in games for the Killebrew, and they have tied the Twins with two titles this season. 

Following their series with the Twins, the Royals lost two straight to the St. Louis Cardinals. The Killebrew was safe with the Royals, however, because it doesn't go on the line in interleague games.

However, the Royals ran into the Aaron this week in Milwaukee, one of the Aaron's spiritual homes. The Milwaukee Brewers took the Aaron from the Pittsburgh Pirates June 8-10 by winning two of three on the road, then they defended it in a four-game split at home against the Washington Nationals (There is no tiebreaker in the Aaron, so it doesn't change hands unless the challenger wins outright).

The Royals and Brewers now have played three games this week, and the Brewers have yet to belong in any of these games. The Royals took the Aaron from the Brewers by sweeping two Monday and Tuesday in Milwaukee. The Royals won the opener, 8-5, with the Brewers scoring three times in the bottom of the ninth to make the final score artificially close. Next night, the Royals tacked up a 7-2 win to claim the Aaron.

This particular set of interleague series being played across the Major Leagues right now — two here/two there arrangements between 15 specific sets of two clubs — is being treated in a lot of media as if they were four-game series home-and-road. Here, each two-game set in each location is treated as a separate series. 

So, with the Brewers and Royals both going to Kansas City for two starting Wednesday night, a new series began. But it hasn't made any real difference. The Royals won, 10-2, Wednesday night, clinching their first title defense of the Aaron.

And that means the Aaron and the Killebrew both will be on the line this weekend, with the Royals defending both of them against the Boston Red Sox. It has been a lean season for the Red Sox. If they can win the series and take both traveling awards, it's likely to be the best thing that happens to them all year.

Harmon Killebrew Award: Jays to tackle Twins for trophy

Two teams with very different fortunes in the Harmon Killebrew Award will meet for the prize Sunday in Minneapolis, where the Minnesota Twins will meet the Toronto Blue Jays in the rubber game of their three-game series. The starting pitcher for each club has been through some strange times this year.

Drew Hutchison will try to pitch the Toronto Blue Jays to their first Harmon Killebrew Award in more than a year Sunday afternoon in Minnesota (Keith Allison [cropped]/Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license).

By BILL PETERSON

Big Leagues in Los Angeles

In addition to being named after the greatest player in their history, another prosperous relationship has cropped up between the Minnesota Twins and the Harmon Killebrew Award. 

The Twins are winning it. The Twins lead the American League this year with two Killebrew captures, a record of 13-7 in Killebrew games and 14 days with the prize in 2015. And they're going for their third consecutive title defense Sunday at Target Field, when they take on the Toronto Blue Jays in the rubber game of a three-game series. 

The Twins also won the Killebrew five times in 2014, more than any other club. In the three years that the Killebrew was observed before 2014, the Twins won it a total of three times.

By stark contrast, the Blue Jays haven't won the Killebrew since Sept. 1, 2013, when they completed a three-game sweep of the Kansas City Royals. The Jays made only one successful title defense, sweeping the Twins Sept. 6-8 at Target Field. Last season, the Jays played for the Killebrew only once, losing two of three last April 15-17 in Minneapolis as the Twins made their only successful defense of their first Killebrew in 2014. The Blue Jays, who are taking their first crack at the Killebrew in 2015, were the only American League club to not win the Killebrew in 2014.

Sunday's pitching match-up presents a rather odd mix of ill and good fortune. The starting pitchers, Ricky Nolasco for the Twins and Drew Hutchison for the Blue Jays, both are sitting on a 5.12 ERA this season (around 30 percent higher than the American League ERA of 3.92 entering Saturday's games) and, yet, they have a combined record of 9-2, with Nolasco at 5-1 and Hutchison at 4-1.

We might write off Nolasco's ERA as an artifact of his first start, a disastrous performance in which he allowed six earned runs in three innings of an 11-1 loss to the Detroit Tigers on April 8. Right after that, he went on the disabled list with inflammation in his right elbow. He has come back to go 5-0 this month, even though his ERA is of 3.77 in those games is more befitting a 3-2 pitcher. But the Twins have scored 32 runs in those five starts, averaging 6.4 runs of support per outing. That will make almost anybody 5-0.

Another oddity about Nolasco is the huge differential between his ERA and his Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP) mark of 2.86. His ERA is a whopping 2.26 runs per nine innings higher. Nolasco has helped bring that about by allowing only one homer in his 31 2/3 innings this year, an average of 0.3 homers per nine innings. For his career, Nolasco allows 1.1 homers per nine innings, almost a full home run more.

According to Fangraphs.com, the 2.26 run differential between Nolasco's ERA and his FIP is the third-highest in the game among pitchers with at least 30 innings this year, behind the Miami Marlins' Mat Latos (2.66) and the Washington Nationals' Stephen Strasburg (2.58). Nolasco's Twins teammate, Trevor May, is fourth on the list at (1.96).

By the numbers, as one might expect from all that, the Twins aren't much of a defensive team. Entering Saturday's games, Baseball-reference.com put their defensive efficiency at .691, 11th in the AL and below the league average of .697. Baseball-reference also puts the Twins at minus-0.9 in defensive WAR and minus-11 in fielding zone runs above average. Not exactly according to form when we look at the better Twins teams General Manager Terry Ryan has put together through the years.

Hutchison also appears high on the Fangraphs list of ERA/FIP differential, 11th across the Major Leagues at 1.39. It's different with the Jays, though, as baseball-reference marks them up as a good defensive team – second in the AL at 25 zone runs above average (the Kansas City Royals lead with 26), tied for fifth at .705 defensive efficiency and 2.2 runs to the good in defensive WAR. 

Somehow, apparently, the Jays don't support Hutchison defensively they way they support their other pitchers. But they support Hutchison huge offensively. They have averaged 7.03 runs of offense in his 10 starts, and have scored fewer than six runs in his starts only twice.

In four different starts this year, Hutchison left the game in fewer than five innings, allowing four, six, six and seven earned runs in those starts. In every case, the Blue Jays scored enough to take him off the hook for the loss.

Hutchison was pretty good in his last start, though, tossing a complete game, four-hit shutout while striking out eight and walking no one for a 6-0 win against the Chicago White Sox on May 25.

If he shows up that way Sunday, the Jays are quite likely to win the Harmon Killebrew Award for the first time in more than a year, breaking the longest drought in the league.

Center League: Royals, Cardinals fight for lead

The St. Louis Cardinals and Kansas City Royals are meeting this weekend in Kansas City for the Center League lead. The Royals won the opener Friday night, 5-0, behind two homers by designated hitter Kendrys Morales.

Kansas City Royals center fielder Lorenzo Cain enters Saturday's games with a 2.8 WAR, according to baseball-reference.com, second only to the Angels' Mike Trout among American League position players (Keith Allison/Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license).

By BILL PETERSON
Big Leagues in Los Angeles

The key series of the weekend is in the Central League, where the St. Louis Cardinals and Kansas City Royals are meeting for the lead.

It happens that the Royals have the best record in the American League (27-14) and the Cardinals have the best record in the National League (27-15), but it's the Cardinals and the Detroit Tigers with a half-game lead on the Royals in the Central League, even after the Royals carried a 5-0 win out of Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City Friday night.

The Royals have advanced from mere feel-good story to real going concern in a very short time. One can tell they are real because they can replace real talent and keep winning.

During the offseason, they lose their ace right-hander, James Shields, the player who, more than any other, lurched them towards credibility. Shields went to the San Diego Padres as a free agent. Instead, now, the Royals have Chris Young, who now has 69 career victories as he approaches his 35th birthday on May 25. Young threw six innings of goose eggs at the Cardinals Friday night, allowing six hits. He's 4-0 now with a 0.78 ERA.

During the offseason, the Royals lost their long-time designated hitter, Billy Butler, to free agency.  In his place, the Royals signed Kendrys Morales, who, being a switch-hitter with power, pretty obviously trumps Butler, who signed with the Oakland Athletics.  Morales accounted for all of Kansas City's scoring Friday with a three-run homer in the first inning and a two-run homer in the third.

The centerpiece for the Royals remains, of course, that core of young, veteran talent. It would be hard to pick just one, but, if you had to, it would probably be the center fielder, Lorenzo Cain. As of Saturday morning, Cain was second to Mike Trout of the Angels in WAR (2.7) among American Leaguers who aren't pitchers, according to baseball-reference.com. Friday night, Cain hit himself onto base twice so he could score on Morales homers.

As of Saturday morning in the Central League, the Cardinals are 20-11, the Tigers are 23-14 and the Royals are 18-10. Now, 30 years after the Royals and Cardinals met in the World Series, they are meeting on the weekend before Memorial Day. Perhaps they will meet again in October.

Harmon Killebrew Award: No sitting still

Unlike, say, the Dick Allen Award, the Harmon Killebrew Award hasn't found a home this year. Already, six different clubs have won it, and no team has defended it more than once. The Tampa Bay Rays have it now, but who knows for how long?

Logan Forsythe helped lead the Tampa Bay Rays to their Harmon Killebrew Award this week, collecting six hits in a four-game series against the New York Yankees (Keith Allison/Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license).


By BILL PETERSON
Big Leagues in Los Angeles

The Harmon Killebrew Award is bouncing around a bit this year. Six weeks into the season, six clubs already have won it.

The Tampa Bay Rays hold it right now, after winning three of four at home this week from the New York Yankees. But who knows how long the Rays will hold it? No team has defended the Killebrew more than once after winning it this year. The Kansas City Royals defended it twice at the start of the season after carrying it over from last year. But when the Royals then lost it and won it again, they defended it only once.

The Baltimore Orioles defended the Killebrew as the home team in Tampa Bay against the Rays at the start of May. But the Orioles then lost three of four on the road to the New York Yankees before the Yankees then dropped the prize in St. Petersburg.

The Rays are defending the Killebrew this weekend in Minneapolis against the Minnesota Twins, who have had a way of stepping up their game with that prize on the line in the last couple of years. The Twins led all teams with five Killebrew championships in 2014, and they already have one in 2015.

Logan Forsythe and Steven Souza led the Rays offensively against the Yankees, each with six hits in the series.

The Royals still are working the best season overall for the Killebrew, winning 10 of 15 games and holding it for nine games. The Orioles have held the Killebrew for seven games, the second most in the American League.

2015 Harmon Killebrew Award results 

Total run tiebreakers, if applicable, are given at the end of the results.

Kansas City 3, Chicago 0 — April 6-9 at Kansas City.
Kansas City 3, ANGELS 0 — April 10-12 at Anaheim.
Minnesota 2, Kansas City 1 — April 13-16 at Minneapolis.
Minnesota 2, Cleveland 1 — April 17-19 at Minneapolis.
Kansas City 2, Minnesota 1 — April 20-22 at Kansas City.
Chicago 2, Kansas City 1 — April 23-26 at Chicago.
Baltimore 1, Chicago 0 — April 29 at Baltimore.
Baltimore 2, Tampa Bay 1 — May 1-3 at Tampa Bay.
New York 3, Baltimore 1 — May 7-10 at New York.
Tampa Bay 3, New York 1 — May 11-14 at Tampa Bay.

Center League: Cards cruise to top of loop

The St. Louis Cardinals burned up the last two weeks and overtook the Detroit Tigers for the Center League lead. The crucial moment was three straight one-run, extra-inning wins against the Pittsburgh Pirates, which has marked the early going for both teams.

St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny has his club off to the best start in the Major Leagues (djprybyl/Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license).

By BILL PETERSON
Big Leagues in Los Angeles

The St. Louis Cardinals are winning everything else in sight these days, and the Center League is no different.

The Cardinals were 8-3 in the Center League from April 27 through May 12, moving from 1½ games behind the Detroit Tigers to first place, one game ahead of the Tigers. The Kansas City Royals also made a nice move during those two weeks, going 8-5, but they only cut their deficit by one-half game to three games.

The Detroit Tigers have had an especially tough time in May, during which they have yet to win a series. The Tigers split four games with the Royals in Kansas City before losing two of three to the Chicago White Sox on the road and losing two of three at home to the Royals. With all that, the Tigers were 7-8 during the two week period, falling to a game back of first place after being in first by 1½ games.

The Minnesota Twins also made a big move, winning seven of 11 in the Center League during the last two weeks. The Twins climbed from eighth place to fourth place and reduced their deficit by a game, so they now are 5½ games out. The Twins now are even closer in the North Division, where they are in second place, 4½ games behind the Tigers.

The most unfortunate team in the Center League during the last two weeks is the Pittsburgh Pirates, who lost three straight extra-inning, one-run games in St. Louis, then lost two straight at home to the Cincinnati Reds. The Pirates lost six of eight games before finally rallying to win two straight against the Cardinals at home this last weekend. But the Pirates have paid for their problems, dropping from 4½ games out of first place two weeks ago to 7½ games out today.

Games of April 27
Kansas City 6, at Cleveland 2.
Detroit 5, at Minnesota 4.
at Chicago (NL) 4, Pittsburgh 0.
at Cincinnati 9, Milwaukee 6.

Games of April 28
Kansas City 11, at Cleveland 5.
at Minnesota 3, Detroit 2.
at Chicago (NL) 6, Pittsburgh 2.
at Cincinnati 4, Milwaukee 2.

Games of April 29
at Cleveland 7, Kansas City 5.
Detroit 10, at Minnesota 7.
Pittsburgh 8, at Chicago (NL) 1
Milwaukee 8, at Cincinnati 3.

Games of April 30
at Kansas City 8, Detroit 1.
at Minnesota 12, Chicago (AL) 2.

Games of May 1
at Kansas City 4, Detroit 1.
at Minnesota 1, Chicago (AL) 0.
at Chicago (NL) 1, Milwaukee 0.
at St. Louis 2, Pittsburgh 1, 10 innings.

Games of May 2
Detroit 2, at Kansas City 1.
at Minnesota 5, Chicago (AL) 3.
Milwaukee 6, at Chicago (NL) 1.
at St. Louis 2, Pittsburgh 1, 11 innings.

Games of May 3
Detroit 6, at Kansas City 4.
at Minnesota 13, Chicago (AL) 3.
Milwaukee 5, at Chicago (NL) 3.
at St. Louis 4, Pittsburgh 3, 14 innings.

Games of May 4
at St. Louis 10, Chicago (NL) 9.

Games of May 5
at Chicago (AL) 5, Detroit 2.
at Kansas City 5, Cleveland 3.
Cincinnati 7, at Pittsburgh 1.
at St. Louis 7, Chicago (NL) 4.

Games of May 6
at Chicago (AL) 7, Detroit 6.
Cleveland 10, at Kansas City 3.
Cincinnati 3, at Pittsburgh 0.
Chicago (NL) 6, at St. Louis 5.

Games of May 7
Detroit 4, at Chicago (AL) 1.
at Kansas City 7, Cleveland 4.
at Pittsburgh 7, Cincinnati 2.
at St. Louis 5, Chicago (NL) 1.

Games of May 8
Minnesota 9, at Cleveland 3.
at Detroit 6, Kansas City 5.
Chicago (NL) 7, Milwaukee 6.
St. Louis 8, Pittsburgh 5.

Games of May 9
Kansas City 6, at Detroit 2.
Cincinnati 10, at Chicago (AL) 4.
at Chicago (AL) 8, Cincinnati 2.
at Milwaukee 12, Chicago (NL) 4.
at Pittsburgh 7, St. Louis 5.
Minnesota 7, at Cleveland 4.

Games of May 10
at Chicago (AL) 4, Cincinnati 3.
at Cleveland 8, Minnesota 2.
Kansas City 2, at Detroit 1.
at Milwaukee 3, Chicago (NL) 2.
at Pittsburgh 4, St. Louis 3.

Games of May 11
at Milwaukee 10, Chicago (AL) 7.

Games of May 12
St. Louis 8, at Cleveland 2.
at Detroit 2, Minnesota 1.
Chicago (AL) 4, at Milwaukee 2.

2014 Third Division standings and summary

The Kansas City Royals needed a strong playoff run to secure their promotion to the Second Division for 2015, and they got it. The Baltimore Orioles, who lost four straight to the Royals in the American League Championship Series, got it the other way.

By BILL PETERSON

Big Leagues in Los Angeles

The Pittsburgh Pirates became a very good club in 2014, actually good enough to overcome a slow start and barrel into the Major League playoffs. Of course, we also saw what kind of club the Kansas City Royals became in 2014, advancing to the World Series.

Somewhat in parallel, the Pirates and Royals will advance to the Second Division in 2015 after finishing one-two in the 2014 Third Division. The Pirates won by an easy four games over the Royals, who finished three games ahead of their nearest threat, the 18-18 Seattle Mariners.

The Pirates finished 25-11 in the Third Division, and 20-6 of that came against the two teams that just dropped into the tier, the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies. The Royals would have thrown second place wide open to the Mariners and Oakland Athletics if they had lost their wildcard playoff game to the A's, but they won that game and their next four against the Baltimore Orioles to solidify their position.

The Orioles, on the flip side, sealed their demotion by losing four straight to the Royals in the American League Championship Series. If the Orioles had won just two games in that series, they would have been saved. Instead, they are going down, along with the Miami Marlins.

2013 Fourth Division standings and summary

The final remaining team from the original Fourth Division, the Kansas City Royals, finally get to move up. But they are behind the Oakland Athletics, who won this tier with ease in 2013.

By BILL PETERSON

Big Leagues in Los Angeles

With the Houston Astros switching leagues and moving into the American League West in 2013, the Oakland Athletics had an easy whipping boy in the Fourth Division, and they took advantage.

The A's went 15-4 against the Astros on their way to a 25-7 trot through the Fourth Division to claim first place by nine games over the Kansas City Royals and the New York Mets. The A's are the only team with a winning record within this division.

As the Mets were only 7-7, thus lacking enough wins to advance, the Royals finally get to break into the Third Division. The Royals were 17-17.

Finally, the entire original Fourth Division from 2010 has turned over, though the Mets, one of that original group, has moved up and returned. 

Center League: Royals struggle against Twins, White Sox

The Kansas City Royals are down a bit in the Center League because they have built their 12-6 overall record with a 5-1 mark against the American League West. This weekend, however, they will get a crack at the Detroit Tigers, who still lead the Center League.

Detroit Tigers manager Brad Ausmus has his club leading the Center League (Gabbo T/Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license).


By BILL PETERSON
Big Leagues in Los Angeles

Looking at the regular Major League standings right now, the Kansas City Royals are right there with the Detroit Tigers, only one-half game down in the American League Central.

Looking at the Central League, the Royals are barely above water, 7-5, putting them 3 1/2 games behind the Tigers.

The difference is that the Royals have played about one-third of their games against the American League West, going 5-1 combined against the Angels and Oakland Athletics. But those aren't Central League games, so they don't help the Royals here.

It also doesn't help the Royals that they get into more fights than they can handle. Nor are they handling the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins, neither of which has given even the impression of being a contender for the last three years.

The Royals swept the White Sox in three at home during the first weekend of the season, as the club and its fans celebrated an apparent rebirth. Since then, though, the Royals have only matched the Twins, splitting their six games. And the Royals lost two of three just now to the White Sox in Chicago, the two losses being counted on April 26.

So, the Royals are nowhere to be found at the top of the Central League standings. Instead, we find the Tigers and the St. Louis Cardinals. Both of those teams began the week outside of the league, then came back later to each win two of three against a league cellar dwellar — the Tigers taking the Cleveland Indians at home and the Cardinals handling the Milwaukee Brewers on the road.

But a lot could change in these standings (or not) during the back part of the coming week — Tigers at Royals, four games, Thursday through Sunday in Kansas City.

Games of April 20

Chicago (NL) 5, at Pittsburgh 2.

Cincinnati 6, at Milwaukee 1.

at Chicago (AL) 4, Cleveland 3.

at Kansas City 7, Minnesota 1.

Games of April 21

Chicago (NL) 9, at Pittsburgh 8.

Cincinnati 16, at Milwaukee 10.

Cleveland 6, at Chicago (AL) 2.

at Kansas City 6, Minnesota 5.

Games of April 22

at Chicago (AL) 6, Cleveland 0.

Minnesota 3, at Kansas City 0.

Cincinnati 2, at Milwaukee 1.

at Pittsburgh 4, Chicago (NL) 3.

Games of April 23

Kansas City 3, at Chicago (AL) 2.

at Milwaukee 4, Cincinnati 2.

at Pittsburgh 5, Chicago (NL) 4.

Games of April 24

Cleveland 13, at Detroit 1.

Chicago (NL) 7, at Cincinnati 3.

St. Louis 3, at Milwaukee 0.

Games of April 25

at Detroit 4, Cleveland 1.

St. Louis 5, at Milwaukee 3.

Games of April 26

at Detroit 8, Cleveland 6.

Chicago (NL) 5, at Cincinnati 2.

at Chicago (AL) 3, Kansas City 2.

at Chicago (AL) 5, Kansas City 3.

at Milwaukee 6, St. Louis 3.