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Another night, another epic - and insane - game. Insane because if at any point in the season you would pick Alcides Escobar to have a plate appearance with the bases loaded where he draws a four pitch walk, I would have taken you some place for a mental health evaluation. Hell... We're all Royals fans, so maybe that mental health evaluation is overdue.
The season continues to defy conventional wisdom.
Here are the current standings with the latest odds.
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | % |
| Tampa Bay | 84 | 69 | .549 | ---- | 78.1 |
| Cleveland | 84 | 70 | .545 | ---- | 59.9 |
| Texas | 83 | 70 | .542 | -0.5 | 49.7 |
| Kansas City | 81 | 72 | .529 | -2.5 | 6.2 |
| Baltimore | 81 | 72 | .529 | -2.5 | 4.2 |
| New York | 81 | 73 | .526 | -3.0 | 1.8 |
My tickets for tonight's game have been secured. I am looking forward to going to this game unlike any other since at least 1994. I mean, you always look forward to going to the ballpark and watching baseball. Because baseball is great. But when your team finds itself in the hunt - no matter the current odds - it just ratchets the expectation level past 11.
The Tampa-Baltimore game last night was pretty crazy. I'm up until 1 AM watching East Coast baseball because my team is invested in the outcome. I think we root for Baltimore, to keep things tight. Even though we pulled ahead of the Orioles odds-wise, and can tie Texas with the much needed sweep, if Cleveland keeps winning and Tampa does well against Baltimore, we're ultimately not gaining enough ground. If the Royals and Orioles can win this weekend, we'd pull into almost a virtual four way dead heat at the top. (Making the wild assumption Cleveland will continue to beat Houston.)
Bono is in favor:
Have a great day. I'll be at The K with 30,000 of you manics. Going to be a great party.