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Just a few quick items, as I am sure you're as excited to read about baseball as I am to write about it this morning.
- According to the Boston Herald, the Red Sox have been trying to acquire Chris Capuano from the New York Mets in exchange for cash, in order to slot Capuano into the rotation Sunday against the Yankees. The Mets aren't playing ball, though (owner Fred Wilpon is likely afraid he will just lose the cash in another Ponzi scheme), and at this point it doesn't look like a deal will be made. Capuano would not be playoff roster eligible, as he was not with the Red Sox prior to September 1, but the focus at this moment in time is on getting there, and the team will worry about who starts what in October if it comes to that.
- Speaking of getting to the playoffs, while the Rays see their chances dwindle further by the day -- Cool Standings has them at just 4.5 percent to win the Wild Card now that they have dropped three straight to the Yankees, while Baseball Prospectus dropped their odds 9.2 percent, down to six percent, due to yesterday's double-loss double-header -- the Angels are climbing up to replace them as the team we need to start biting our fingernails over. The Angels are just 2.5 percent to take the Wild Card according to Baseball Prospectus, but Cool Standings has them at 7.5. Neither is enough to panic over, just like with the Rays a week ago, but after losing three out of four to the Orioles, I can see where that Angel-shaped object in the Red Sox rear view mirror would look closer than it appears.
- While we've been watching the Red Sox lead dwindle over the month of September, the Braves have been doing the same. Whereas the Red Sox are still between 87 and 91 percent to make the playoffs depending on your source for odds, the Braves are now between 64 and 70 percent, and have seen their chances drop 25 percent in the last week. See, things could be worse! Now excuse me while my brain takes the rest of the day off of baseball to recover from the last three days of blunt Oriole trauma.