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All this winning has not been good as far as the draft is concerned. The Indians are still in a fourth-place tie with Minnesota, and have just about no shot of advancing any further, as third-place Colorado is 3.5 games ahead of them. So it's time to revise our goals to a more realistic level.
| Rk | Tm | G | W | L ▾ | R | RA | Rdiff | last10 | last20 | last30 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | HOU | 156 | 51 | 105 | .327 | 3.6 | 5.0 | -1.4 | 4-6 | 9-11 | 11-19 |
| 2 | CHC | 155 | 59 | 96 | .381 | 3.8 | 4.7 | -0.9 | 2-8 | 8-12 | 11-19 |
| 3 | COL | 155 | 61 | 94 | .394 | 4.8 | 5.5 | -0.8 | 3-7 | 5-15 | 10-20 |
| 4 | CLE | 156 | 65 | 91 | .417 | 4.1 | 5.2 | -1.1 | 5-5 | 7-13 | 10-20 |
| 5 | MIN | 156 | 65 | 91 | .417 | 4.4 | 5.2 | -0.8 | 5-5 | 9-11 | 14-16 |
| 6 | MIA | 155 | 66 | 89 | .429 | 3.8 | 4.5 | -0.7 | 2-8 | 6-14 | 9-21 |
In addition the Miami Marlins are coming up behind them fast; the Marlins are just 1.5 games behind the Indians with 7 games to play. At this point the best-case scenario for the Indians is pick #4, and the worst-case is pick #6; 3.5 games (Colorado)is way too much to make up in 6 games.
Here's what the contenders for pick #4 have on their schedule the last week of the season:
- Cleveland (91 losses): 3 KC (70-85), 3 CHW (82-73) - even with mounting injuries, the Indians are playing their best baseball since the All-Star Break, actually winning 5 out of their last 10 games. That's not the way a team needs to be playing going into the final week. They'll face a playoff contender in the White Sox in the last series of the season, but the way Chicago's playing, that's not a guaranteed sweep.
- Minnesota (91 losses): 3 DET (83-72), @ TOR (68-87) - on paper, things are looking good for the Twins, as they face off against a hot Detroit club. But they've given the Tigers headaches this season. Toronto will be a tough series, as the Jays are in a freefall heading down the stretch. It should be a close finish - keep in mind that the Twins hold the tiebreaker with the Indians should the teams end up with the same record.
- Miami (89 losses): 1 @ ATL (90-65), 3 PHL (78-77), 3 NYM (71-84) - Miami is 1.5 games behind both the Indians and Twins going into the final week of the season, but they're finishing strong. Just 6-14 over their last 20 games, their manager and closer are verbally sparring through the media, among other distractions.
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