On Sunday, October 3, 2010, the Arizona Diamondbacks finished the season with an embarassing 65-97 record, also claiming the title of last place in the NL West. Less than a year later, on September 23, 2011, they defeated the San Francisco Giants 3-1, to improve their record to 91-66. Behind a strong performance from Joe Saunders they clinched the NL West for the first time since 2007. In his first full season as manager, Kirk Gibson has brought the Diamondbacks from the laughing stock of the division to a surprise playoff team with momentum that could keep them playing deep into October. The Diamondbacks officially clinched their playoff spot yesterday, to the delight of the 42,606 fans in attendance.
The current playoff teams in the National league are the Number One seeded Phillies, Two seeded Brewers, Three Seeded Diamondbacks, and the Braves with the wild card. The Saint Louis Cardinals currently trail the Braves by 2 games for the wildcard spot. In the American League, The Yankees, Rangers, and Tigers have all clinched their playoff spots. The Boston Red Sox currently own the Wild Card Spot, a spot rewarded to the team with the best record that does not win its division. Tampa Bay trails Boston by a mere 1.5 games with 4 games left to play for the Rays(and 5 left for the Sox). The Angels trail the Red Sox by 2.5 games for the Wild Card.
The Dodgers were officially eliminated from the playoffs, but have won 24 0f 41 and have a winning record. The Dodgers’ lefty and Cy Young candidate Clayton Kershaw leads the MLB in strikeouts, and the NL in ERA. He also is tied for the most wins with 20, and is the only Dodger pitcher to win 20 games in over 20 years. The Dodgers also have an MVP Candidate in Matt Kemp, who is 3rd in the National League in batting, tied for 1st in Home Runs, 1st in Runs Batted In, 2nd in hits, 2nd in stolen bases, and 3rd in On Base Percentage.
Pacific Coast Sports Talk(With an L.A. Bias) 