In an earlier edition of Crack of the Bat, in which I profiled my preseason predictions, I noted that it was unwise to bet against the Atlanta Braves repeating as the winners of the National League East division. The Braves once again held true, and won their 14^th consecutive division title. In yet another Crack of the Bat column from a few weeks ago, I noted how the Braves did it this year relying on a lot of the talented, young players that were called up to fill integral roles on the team. A tip of the cap to John Scheurholz and the entire Braves organization for once again making it to the playoffs. If the Braves don't define a dynasty, particularly in this day and age, I don't know what does.

The Angels clinched the American League West on Tuesday, September 27^th, with a victory over the Oakland Athletics. The A's were also eliminated from the Wild Card race, with the Yankees, Red Sox and Indians all in contention to win that berth. I'm sure the A's surprised many people for making it as far as they did after dealing two members of the Big Three last offseason, but similar to the Braves, Billy Beane and the A's value the importance of building from within, and have a very talented, young nucleus that will have to be reckoned with in years to come.

The Cleveland Indians are built in a similar fashion to the Braves and A's, and are in contention for the playoffs probably one year before most people thought they would be ready to make such a run. A bounce-back season from Bob Wickman, arguably the most valuable closer in all of baseball this year, along with a talented, young offensive lineup and an improved pitching staff make the Indians another team on the rise to contend with for years to come.

And the Indians could still technically win the American League Central, closing the year with a weekend series against the Chicago White Sox. While the White Sox have slipped a little bit since the All-Star break, they have been playing better this month, and seemed to have been revived with the Indians late run.

The Yankees and Red Sox will fight for the American League East this weekend, another key series to watch to close out the season. Expect a slug-fest, as neither team has had reliable pitching this season due to injuries and age creeping up on two relatively old to ancient starting staffs. I'm going to give the nod to the Yankees, who have been playing better as of late, and who in my mind clearly have the better bullpen. Games this late in the year and throughout the playoffs are often determined by which team has the better bullpen, and with Tom "Flash" Gordon and Mariano Rivera, arguably the greatest postseason closer ever, the Yankees should be poised to win the AL East yet again.

I seemed to have jinxed the San Diego Padres, as my new-found fandom for the Friars seemed to backfire. Instead of taking advantage of their favorable August schedule, the Padres have slipped below .500 yet again. The return of Barry Bonds certainly didn't help the Padres, as the Giants have been surging in recent weeks and could over throw San Diego with a little bit of luck (which makes you wonder where the Giants would be right now had they had Bonds all season). After finishing a mid-week series against one another, the Padres close the season out at home (where they have played considerably better this season) against the Los Angeles Dodgers, while the Giants finish at home versus the Diamondbacks.

Since the Cardinals clinched the NL Central in May (or at least it seemed like they did), there isn't much drama in that division to close out the season. The Astros hold the lead for the NL Wildcard spot, with the Phillies a few games behind. The Phillies have been highlighted recently by the hot hitting of Jimmy Rollins, whose 32 game hitting streak (as of September 28) is the longest such streak in baseball this year. The Astros finish the year at home (where they too have played much better this season) against the Cubs, with the Phillies playing the wilting Nationals on the road.

As I pointed out a couple of weeks ago, it would be pretty hard to accept a team finishing below .500 while making the playoffs. So, I will continue to root for the San Diego Padres, even if it hasn't done them any good. Since I value teams that have strong scouting and player development departments, I will also root for the Cleveland Indians to clinch the AL Wildcard berth at worse. I'm rather indifferent towards the AL East, as I don't find the Yankees to be that much more "evil" than the Red Sox. As for the NL Wildcard, Steve Carlton was one of my favorite players growing up in Northwestern Pennsylvania, so I'll give my favorable nod to the Phillies.

Next week I will offer my playoff predictions while also reviewing my preseason predictions to analyze just how good my powers of prognostication are.