Players' Weekend, and all the wild bat, cleat and sock designs that came with it, provided a fun little sideshow to what otherwise is a doldrums-y stretch in the Major League Baseball schedule. However, with just six weeks remaining until the end of the regular season, it's all business from this point forward. No one has clinched a playoff spot yet, and no one is even remotely close to doing so.
We did have our first team officially eliminated from postseason contention this weekend, though, and it's looking like there are only 15 teams left realistically vying for the 12 spots in the October bracket. And even counting the Seattle Mariners among that 15 after the disastrous week they just endured might be a bit generous. Ahead is an updated look at where all 30 teams stand heading into the home stretch.
30. Chicago White Sox (30-95) 29. Colorado Rockies (46-79) 28.
Miami Marlins (46-78) 27. Los Angeles Angels (53-71) 26. Oakland Athletics (53-71) 25.
Toronto Blue Jays (58-66) 24. Washington Nationals (56-69) 23. Texas Rangers (57-68) For all eight of these teams, it's all over except for the shouting.
Well, the shouting and the waiving. If you can believe it, it wasn't until Saturday's loss to Houston (coupled with Kansas City's win over Cincinnati) that the Chicago White Sox were, finally, mathematically eliminated from the playoff hunt, falling to 38.5 games back in the AL wild-card race with 38 games to play.
This whole tier is toast, though. Each team is at least 10 game.