JoeRudi26

A's HOLD TWINS SCORELESS ENTIRE SERIES, CAP OFF SWEEP Seth Smith Unloads For His 20th Homerun Of The Season Jed Lowrie Watches From 3rd Base As Smith Drives Him In Darin Mastroianni Fooled By A Jessie Chavez Curveball

Incredible how far it's all come. I probably played most of these. Kind of funny to hear some of the younger generation complain because there may be no dirt on a player's uniform, for example. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=QTUArx4lvrU

I hope Minnesota goes down as easy as they did yesterday. I need the break after the Houston series.

Here are the remaining schedules for Oakland, Texas, and L.A.A.: A's Rangers Angels As you can see, pretty much even across the board. Gonna be tough.

N.L. East N.L. Central N.L. West N.L. Wild Card

Oops, got busy and forgot to post them. Here they are after today's games: A.L. East A.L. Central A.L. West A.L. Wild Card

SEPTEMBER 10TH, Oakland vs Minnesota Highlights A.L. West Standings A.L. Wild Card Standings

MOSS HOMERS TWICE, A'S KEEP UP WITH THE ANGELS

If I don't make it, and from the teams I have to choose from, I'd go with Detroit without a doubt.

Probably, Sean. Actually, I think I did that back in 2009 too. Seems I went on to play as someone, don't really remember. I'll post the standings in a bit, but off the top of my head, they're playing out like this (1st place teams): Toronto Detroit L.A. Angels/Oakland Philadelphia St. Louis L.A. Dodgers There are some closes races within, just can't remember exactly how it stands. I'll post them here in a bit, including the Wild Card Standings.

SOOOOO... Thanks for the good words, but I'm not taking anything for granted. You win some, you lose some.

RANGERS LEAVE NO DOUBT, DESTROY A's IN BID FOR PLAYOFFS BLALOCK, YOUNG, MURPHY, CRUZ, JONES GO DEEP FOR TEXAS

I hope you're right Carlos. In my 2009 season with the A's, some here may remember how that turned out. OCTOBER 5th, 2009 RANGERS vs A's: ONE GAME PLAYOFF FOR WEST DIVISION TITLE STARTING PITCHERS STARTING LINEUPS

Hey Mike! Yeah, it's a blast but then again it's nerve racking. I'll be honest, playing 162 games can get to you, especially the second half of the season after the All-Star break -- that time during July and August, when things seem to be at a lull. But that being said THIS year, I've been struggling from late July until now to stay at the top of the division. I mean EVERY GAME. Texas and L.A.A. have been bouncing back and forth (along with my A's) in the top 3 spots for almost 2 months. After 145 games, you just don't want to lose your grip. I'll take a Wild Card spot, I don't care. After a long fought season, I just want to get in.

BTW, here's where I currently sit in the standings, and the reason for all the tension. A.L. West A.L. Wild Card

It's been a heck of a weekend trying to keep with up the Angels. After dropping the first 2 to Houston in a 4 game set, I managed, SOMEHOW, to hang in there and take the last two. It was brutal. Saturday night, it took me 18 innings to scrape out the 2-1 win: And yesterday, it took a 2 run jack by Brandon Moss in the bottom of the 8th to get the win again -- 2-1. I've got the day off today before I meet up with Minnesota for 3 games. And I'm not looking forward to it.

Houston has taken the first 2 (out of 4) from me. This is ridiculous. One of the worst teams in baseball, and I can hardly score against them. I now sit 1 GB of L.A.A and 1 1/2 games over Texas for the wild card lead. I need a win against them tonight. Sigh

I'm currenty 79-61, and I believe Oakland is 80-60 in real life. Amazing.

Unbelievable. I sweep a very talented Texas team, only to get taken down by a rag tag Houston (18 GB) squad last night in the opening game of a 4 game set. Houston pitcher Dallas Keuchel was throwing a steady dose of 87 mph fastballs complimented with 73 mph changeups, with an 80 mph curveball thrown into the mix. No rhyme or rythm -- guessing became obsolete after 2 or 3 innings -- trying to sit on a certain pitch just didn't work. Amazing how smart the AI is in this game. I had 1 hit going into the 8th, and only 3 more after Keuchel was taken out. I went down 3-1, and now sit tied with the Angels for 1st place, with Texas 1.5 GB. I've gotta be more focused tonight, things are getting tight with little time left on the schedule.

BTW, I wound up sweeping Texas last night. Didn't think it was possible with that lineup. Surprisingly, they barely put up a fight in my 5-1 win. I now sit a game up in 1st place, with a long month of division play in front of me.

Very nice. I'm going to go through their numbers today and see what's up. Pujols and Hamilton must be killing the ball, along with some really good pitching. I'll have to check it out.

Wow, that Texas/Oakland race is tight as ever. I can't for the life of me (haven't looked at the numbers) figure out why L.A.A. is giving me trouble in the West. An investigation is in order.

I actually don't know yet, Carlos. I've not seen anything thus far indicating whether it will or won't, but I guess I'll find out soon.

You're right, Carlos. As much as I loved MVP, and many years spent playing it, The Show is untouchable. Granted, it took a few years for it to get this solid, but now it's a baseball game you want to savor. Playing one game a day allows me to do that. The graphics, the sounds, the stats, the little things in general are absolutely fantastic, but still second to it's game play. Seriously would have never believed it out of a console game. I'll have to admit, I've played a lot of seasons over the years, but for some reason I think this one will stick out. The fight, the struggle to float around the top of the division with too much time on the schedule has made me want it even more. After the walk off last night, I was fist pumping around the living room like Kirk Gibson in the '88 World Series as he rounded the bags after the homerun. Playing 140 games manually will do that to you -- it's just too much to lose at this point. I WANT to get into the playoffs. With the way the standings are in the A.L. West right now, nothing is certain for the top three teams. I am fighting my ass off with each pitch, struggling (and cussing at each changeup) to stay alive. I may make it, I may not. But it's been one to remember.