A Look at Franchise GM

[Flash]

It's always fun to step back at look at how things are going in our league.  Here we are at the All-Star break, six scoring periods away from the playoffs, and there are some interesting things in the works.

Pleasant Surprises

In the American League, the Orioles are running away with the #1 Seed as the leader of the AL West with a record of 99-15.  The Orioles have assembled a team with a balanced attack of productive hitters and a strong group of SPs. 

While the Orioles  have been doing their thing, the Pleasant Surprises come from the AL Central leader Tigers and AL West leader Mariners. Both of them lead them have identical records of 83-31. At the moment, both of them enjoy three game leads over White Sox and A's.

In the NL Central, the Cardinals have built a seven game lead over the FGM defending champions Cubs

Old Reliables

In the National League, we have some Old Reliables leading the way.  The battle for the #1 Seed features some familiar souls in Phillies (91-23) and Dodgers (90-24).  Both are dominating their division with double digit leads.

Wild Card Races

In the American League, the Wild Card leaders are White Sox and A's with identical records of 80-34.  The Angels are breathing down their necks at 79-35 and, after several seasons of rebuilding, the Angels could be seen as the biggest surprise of the season.

In the National League, the Wild Card race is just as competitive.  The Giants (74-40) and the Cubs (73-41) are separated by a single game, but there are several teams still in the hunt: the Marlins (68-46) and the Brewers (67-47) -- with the Reds (60-54) and Padres (59-55) within shouting distance.

The Stretch Run

With the Trade Deadline only 19 days away, I would expect there to be some definite Buyers and Sellers.  A few moves could help solidify some lineups and could also help some teams build for the future. 

As always, injuries and slumps will play a significant role in how things turn out.  We all know the frustrations that stem from a key player suffering an injury or falling into a performance slump. 

As we wind down the regular season, may the Fantasy Gods look upon your team with favorable eyes.

[jpmanchester]

Cardinals and Cubs are building a pretty competitive rivalry the last couple years!

[Flash]

For some reason I can't seem to post on any of the FGM Boards, so I've asked Flash to post this for me:

Seems like yesterday this season began but we are currently in the final week of our regular season. All in all I'd say it has been a pretty good year.

We have a few surprise team still in contention. The Angels and Detroit come to mind. They finished 44.5 and 53 games back, respectively last year and both are still in the hunt.

On another front I think activity has been satisfactory. From a Commish's point of view you can never have enough activity but we've done OK. I'm a little disappointed at the amount of last minute trades at the deadline but I think we've somewhat made that up in August trades.

Speaking of activity- I feel like I need to apologize for not being as visible as I'd like to be this season. I've been around on a daily basis but my current work schedule has prohibited me from being as active as I'd prefer. That's one advantage I have- a Co-Commish named Flash. Huge props to him; he's kept this league running this season.

With all that said here is the playoff season as it currently stands:
NATIONAL LEAGUE

All divisions have been clinched- St. Louis, Philly and the Dodgers
The Wild Card race is down to the Giants (102-52), Cubs (101-53), and Brewers (99-55)

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Baltimore has clinched the East as has Seattle in the West but that's where it gets interesting:

Detroit and the ChiSox are separated by 5 games in a battle for the Central. The Wild Card teams are too confusing to figure out but the Angels, A's, and the 2nd place Central team are in contention for Wild Card berths. Boston has not been mathematically eliminated. Good luck to the remaining contending teams!

Thanks,
Rick