is an open question<\/a>.<\/p>\nStill, the Tigers trail the Blue Jays by only half a game for the best record in the American League. Their current funk might be nothing more than a blip. But they\u2019re sort of the Milwaukee Brewers of the AL, prompting skepticism about just how good they actually are.<\/p>\n
Philadelphia Phillies<\/p>\n
Losing Zack Wheeler was bad enough. Losing shortstop Trea Turner, who left Sunday\u2019s game with a strained right hamstring, would be worse.<\/p>\n
Turner ranks fourth in the majors in fWAR, behind only Judge, Cal Raleigh and Bobby Witt Jr. The good news is, the Phillies are all but locked into the second seed in the NL, giving Turner nearly a month to recover if he needs the time.<\/p>\n
If Wheeler were healthy, the Phillies might be the favorite to win the World Series. Even with Aaron Nola struggling, they still might be the favorite, or at least one of them. But the chances of Walker Buehler breaking up the all-left-handed rotation of Cristopher S\u00e1nchez, Ranger Suarez and Jes\u00fas Luzardo would appear minimal, and such a setup is not ideal.<\/p>\n
The newly formed platoons in the outfield corners should help the offense. The team overall is rounding into form, winning 21 of its last 33 games. And the veterans are particularly driven after losing to the Astros in the 2022 World Series, blowing a three-games-to-two lead at home to Arizona in the 2023 NLCS and getting humiliated by the Mets in the 2024 DS.<\/p>\n
It all would look that much better if Wheeler was\u00a0at the top of the rotation. But most teams would relish the Phillies\u2019 problems.<\/p>\n
Milwaukee Brewers<\/p>\n
After sweeping Pittsburgh, the Crew remain on pace for their first 100-win season. That alone would be a shocking achievement from the team in the league\u2019s smallest media market, but questions persist about how the Brewers will fare in the postseason.<\/p>\n
Those questions revolve largely around the offense, which entered Sunday ranked 19th in homers. Well, the Brewers also ranked second in runs per game, not to mention second in ERA. They need Christian Yelich healthy, and some of their injured relievers to return. But their rotation options are plentiful. They own the best record in the majors by 5 1\/2 games. And their fans, of all those in the majors, have the least reason to complain.<\/p>\n
Chicago Cubs<\/p>\n
It\u2019s crazy how two years after taking the Milwaukee Brewers\u2019 manager, Craig Counsell, the Cubs remain in the shadow of their small-market neighbors to the north.<\/p>\n
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Could a playoff showdown end up in the works for Cubs manager Craig Counsell\u2019s current and former teams? (Ron Chenoy \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n
The Cubs are not getting enough credit for a season in which they are carrying the third-best record in the NL. But forgive their fans for freaking out over a team that was second in the majors in runs per game before the All-Star break, but ranks only 26th after \u2013 with Kyle Tucker and Pete Crow-Armstrong facing injury concerns. The Cubs also might have lost their closer Sunday, when Daniel Palencia was removed with shoulder tightness.<\/p>\n
A Cubs-Brewers DS or NLCS would be the Midwest version of Yankees-Red Sox and Dodgers-Padres \u2013 only for once, the bigger-market team might be the one with the inferiority complex.<\/p>\n
Lucky to be included in the conversation<\/p>\n
The following teams are within three games of a wild-card spot, so we\u2019ll give each a brief mention. Three other clubs within four games \u2013Tampa Bay, San Francisco and Cincinnati \u2013 do not warrant that much, not when they\u2019re all only one game above or below .500.<\/p>\n
Texas Rangers<\/p>\n
David Murphy, the former outfielder who is now a Rangers TV analyst, dubbed them, \u201cThe Little Rascals.\u201d Raise your hand if you\u2019ve heard of Cody Freeman, Alejandro Osuna, Michael Helman and Dustin Harris. They are among the position players who have fueled the Rangers\u2019 11-4 run. Once Corey Seager and Adolis Garcia return to boost the offense, the Rangers\u2019 pitching staff could turn this into 2023 all over again.<\/p>\n
Kansas City Royals<\/p>\n
It\u2019s difficult to get excited about a team that ranks 28th in the majors in runs per game, ahead of only Colorado and Pittsburgh. But if the Royals can maintain their equilibrium on their upcoming trip to Cleveland and Philadelphia, they\u2019ll get a crack at home against the team they\u2019re chasing, Seattle. Bobby Witt Jr., who missed the last two games with back spasms, is needed back ASAP.<\/p>\n
Cleveland Guardians<\/p>\n
On Aug. 25, the Guards were in a 1-9 slide, six games behind Seattle for the final wild-card spot, with both Kansas City and Texas ahead of them. They still trail both those clubs, but with their current 8-4 roll, including three of four at Tampa Bay over the weekend, they\u2019re only 2 1\/2 out. At two games over .500, they\u2019re not exactly imposing. But as they begin a seven-game homestand against Kansas City and the Chicago White Sox, they\u2019re not out of it, either.<\/p>\n
So there you have \u2019em, the Flawed 15, most gasping for air as they near the finish line. If you\u2019re a fan of one of those clubs, take heart. The true embarrassment is not making this list under an expanded playoff system. Especially in a season in which even many of the best clubs make you want to cover your eyes.<\/p>\n
(Top photo of a young Dodger fan: Katelyn Mulcahy \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Two years ago, the Texas Rangers entered the final weekend leading the AL West by 2 1\/2 games.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":141794,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[374,479,2320,372,373,2321,2323,2325,363,1189,369,480,2328,481,99,2330,364],"class_list":["post-141793","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-boston-red-sox","tag-chicago-cubs","tag-cleveland-guardians","tag-detroit-tigers","tag-houston-astros","tag-kansas-city-royals","tag-los-angeles-dodgers","tag-milwaukee-brewers","tag-mlb","tag-new-york-mets","tag-new-york-yankees","tag-philadelphia-phillies","tag-san-diego-padres","tag-seattle-mariners","tag-sports","tag-texas-rangers","tag-toronto-blue-jays"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141793","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=141793"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141793\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/141794"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=141793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=141793"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=141793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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