WWTBAM Bored

Texas lost today for the Rangers' 87th loss of the season so they cannot win more than 75 games. Three other teams in the American League West have already won at least 76 games, so the Rangers cannot win the division and cannot be one of the top two non-division winners. The Rangers have been toastified.

I think this is the first time since I've been doing this that all teams retained a mathematical chance of making the playoffs as late as September 1. --Bob

Bob78164 wrote:I think this is the first time since I've been doing this that all teams retained a mathematical chance of making the playoffs as late as September 1. --Bob

It had just occurred to me today that we hadn't seen the toaster thread yet...

Blame it on no teams running away with great records this year. The odds are pretty good that no team will win 100 games this year, and only a handful will even cross the 90 win mark. While there have been a handful of terrible teams like the Rangers, there also seems to be a lot of parity among the upper echelons of MLB this year....

lb13

The Rangers could become only the third team to win 90 games one year and lose 100 the next. The other two, the 1914-15 Braves and 1997-98 Marlins, were broken up by the owners for financial reasons. The Rangers would be the first to have such a drop naturally.

elwoodblues wrote:The Rangers could become only the third team to win 90 games one year and lose 100 the next. The other two, the 1914-15 Braves and 1997-98 Marlins, were broken up by the owners for financial reasons. The Rangers would be the first to have such a drop naturally.

Not sure there is much that is natural about the remarkable and apparently record number of injuries the Rangers have been afflicted with this year.

Ron Washington just resigned as manager of the Rangers. --Bob

Colorado lost yesterday for the Rockies' 86th loss of the season, so Colorado cannot win more than 76 games. The Dodgers have won 82 games so Colorado cannot win the NL West. San Francisco has won 79 games so at least one non-division winner in the NL West will finish ahead of Colorado.

St. Louis has won 80 games and Washington has won 82 games, so those teams both will finish ahead of Colorado. Pittsburgh has won 75 games and Atlanta has won 74 games, for a total of 149 wins. The Pirates and the Braves have 4 games remaining against each other, so the total wins of both teams will reach at least 153 wins, which means one of those two teams will necessarily win at least 77 games, which means that a second non-division winner will necessarily finish ahead of Colorado. No Rocky Mountain High this year -- Colorado has been toastified. --Bob

Tonight's Red Sox loss was Boston's 83rd loss of the season, so the Red Sox cannot win more than 79 games. Baltimore has already won 86 games so the Red Sox cannot win the AL East. Kansas City and Detroit each have won 80 games so Boston will finish behind at least two teams in the AL Central. The Angels and Oakland each have won at least 81 games so Boston also will finish behind at least two teams in the AL West. The Curse begins anew. The Red Sox have been toastified. --Bob

Arizona's loss tonight was the Diamondbacks' 86th loss of the season so Arizona cannot win more than 76 games. The Dodgers and Giants each have won at least 80 games so Arizona will finish behind at least two teams in the NL West. St. Louis has won 80 games so Arizona will finish behind the Cardinals. Pittsburgh has won 76 games and the Brewers have won 75 games, and Pittsburgh and Milwaukee have 3 games remaining against each other, so at least one of those teams will win at least 77 games. Therefore, Arizona will finish behind at least two teams in the NL Central. No pool party this year. The Diamondbacks have been toastified. --Bob

Bob78164 wrote:Tonight's Red Sox loss was Boston's 83rd loss of the season, so the Red Sox cannot win more than 79 games. Baltimore has already won 86 games so the Red Sox cannot win the AL East. Kansas City and Detroit each have won 80 games so Boston will finish behind at least two teams in the AL Central. The Angels and Oakland each have won at least 81 games so Boston also will finish behind at least two teams in the AL West. The Curse begins anew. The Red Sox have been toastified. --Bob

Perhaps the first time in 16 years (Marlins) that the defending World Series champion will finish dead last in their division. Of course, that '98 Marlins team was a lot worse than the '14 Red Sox team. That Marlins team lost 108 games.

Minnesota lost both ends of a doubleheader today, giving the Twins 84 losses so far this season, so they cannot win more than 78 games. Kansas City and Detroit have each won 80 games, so the Twins cannot win the AL Central and they will finish behind at least two teams in the AL Central. The Angels and Oakland each have won at least 81 games so Minnesota also will finish behind at least two teams in the AL West. Alliteratively speaking, the Twins have been toastified. --Bob

Houston has lost 82 games so the Astros cannot win more than 80 games. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and Oakland both have won at least 81 games, so Houston cannot win the AL West and at least two teams in the AL West will finish ahead of the Astros. Detroit won today for the Tigers' 81st win of the season. Kansas City also has won 81 games so at least two teams in the AL Central will finish ahead of the Astros. Houston's welcome to the American League was not warm. The Astros have been toastified. --Bob

The Cubs lost today for Chicago's 84th loss of the season so the Cubs cannot win more than 78 games. St. Louis and Pittsburgh (with the Pirates' victory over the Cubs) both have won at least 79 games, so Chicago cannot win the NL Central Division and they will finish behind at least two teams in the division. The Dodgers and the Giants both have won at least 82 games so Chicago also will finish behind at least two teams in the NL West. Sixty-nine years and counting since the Cubs' last World Series appearance -- the Cubs have been toastified. --Bob

The White Sox lost to Kansas City tonight for Chicago's 82nd loss of the season and the Royals' 82nd win. Chicago cannot win more than 80 games. Detroit has won 84 games, so the White Sox cannot win the AL Central and at least two teams in the division will finish ahead of Chicago. The Angels and Oakland both have won at least 83 games so at least two teams in the AL West will finish ahead of Chicago as well. No joy on the South Side either this year -- the White Sox have been toastified. --Bob

Although the Yankees are not mathematically toast in the wild card race they are so for the AL East after a loss and a Baltimore win. The O's can wrap up the AL East for the first time since back in the 1990s by knocking off second place Toronto tonight.

Congratulations to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for clinching a playoff berth. --Bob

Congratulations to the American League Eastern Division Champion Baltimore Orioles. --Bob

Congratulations to the National League Eastern Division champion Washington Nationals. --Bob

Pittsburgh's win today was the Pirates' 81st win of the season. Milwaukee has won 79 games and the Brewers and the Pirates have 3 games remaining against each other, so at least one of those teams will win at least 82 games. St. Louis has won 84 games so at least two teams in the NL Central will win at least 82 games. The Dodgers and the Giants each have won at least 84 games so at least two teams in the NL West will win at least 84 games. Thus, the Pirates win completed a rare triple play.

San Diego has lost 81 games so the Padres can win no more than 81 games. The Padres will finish no better than third in the NL West and will finish behind at least two teams in the NL Central. The Padres have been toastified.

Cincinnati has lost 82 games so the Reds can win no more than 80 games. The Reds will finish no better than third in the NL Central and will finish behind at least two teams in the NL West. The Reds have been toastified.

Philadelphia has lost 82 games so the Phillies cannot win more than 80 games. Washington has won 87 games so Philadelphia cannot win the NL East, and they will finish behind at least two teams in the NL Central and two teams in the NL West. The Phillies have been toastified. --Bob

Congratulations to the American League Western Division champion Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. --Bob

The Mets have lost 80 games this season so they cannot win more than 82 games. Washington has already won 89 games so the Mets cannot win the National League Eastern Division. Pittsburgh's win today was the Pirates' 83rd win of the season, and St. Louis has won 85 games, so at least two teams in the NL Central will finish ahead of the Mets. The Dodgers and the Giants have won at least 84 games, so at least two teams in the NL West will finish ahead of the Mets. There will be no joy in Mudville this year. The Mets have been toastified. --Bob

Congratulations to the Los Angeles Dodgers, who have clinched a post-season berth. --Bob

Tampa Bay has lost 80 games this season so the Rays cannot win more than 82 games. Baltimore has already won 92 games so the Rays cannot win the American League Eastern Division. Detroit and Kansas City have already won at least 83 games so Tampa Bay will finish between at least two teams in the AL Central. The Angels, Oakland, and Seattle all have won at least 83 games so the Rays will finish behind at least three teams in the AL West. It's a day without orange juice for Tampa Bay's fans. The Rays have been toastified. --Bob

Miami's loss today was the Marlins' 80th loss of the season so Miami cannot win more than 82 games. Washington has already won 90 games so the Marlins cannot win the National League Eastern Division. St. Louis and Pittsburgh both have won at least 83 games so at least two teams in the NL Central will finish ahead of Miami. The Dodgers and the Giants both have won at least 84 games so at least two teams in the NL West will finish ahead of the Marlins. Time for Miami's fans to go fishing. The Marlins have been toastified. --Bob

Fifty years ago this morning, the Phillies were in first place by 6½ games. Then they lost ten in a row and the pennant. That epic fail still haunts local fans. Today, the Phils are playing in Oakland, where the As are enduring a collapse of their own.

jarnon wrote:Fifty years ago this morning, the Phillies were in first place by 6½ games. Then they lost ten in a row and the pennant. That epic fail still haunts local fans. Today, the Phils are playing in Oakland, where the As are enduring a collapse of their own.

Having grown up there in the '70s, I often heard media accounts of the Fizz Kids.

And then the Mets topped that epic fail in two consecutive years. --Bob