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Beltran, Castillo rally Mets by Padres

Billy Wagner gave up the go-ahead run, then Trevor Hoffman blew a save.

On a night when two of baseball’s best closers struggled mightily in the ninth inning, the New York Mets bounced back to win with one final rally.

Carlos Beltran had five RBIs and Luis Castillo singled home the winning run off Hoffman in the ninth, helping the Mets beat the San Diego Padres 7-6 Tuesday in a back-and-forth game between playoff contenders.

“To come back like that against a guy like Trevor Hoffman — that’s a real big win for us. Absolutely amazing,” Marlon Anderson said.

Beltran hit a two-run shot off Chris Young, who entered leading the majors with a 1.93 ERA, and the NL East leaders won the opener of a three-game series. San Diego is tied with Philadelphia atop the wild-card standings.

In Teams

The Wild Card Chase Heats Up

Say what you will about MLB’s use of the wild card playoff allowance—an idea many baseball purists hate—but it’s hard to deny the added interest these additional races create. Consider this: if there wasn’t a wild card playoff spot in MLB, what would teams like the Phillies, Braves, Yankees and Twins have to look forward to? Unless they got on some crazy hot streak, not much except October tee times… a concept the baseball purists undoubtedly support.Heck, even I must admit I like the concept of having only 4 playoff teams, each one a division winner. But to say the wild card race doesn’t expand this level of regular season interest is wrong as well. Before the wild card introduction, there would only be a few teams worth keeping track of on a national scale as we got into the latter part of the season. Interest for teams that weren’t in was resigned to local fans. Why should I care about Minnesota team that, under the old system, would have little chance of making the fall festivities?

So here we are with only a month and some change left in the season and because of the wild card format, there are a number of teams that are worth paying attention too. In the National League, the breakdown is as follows:

NL Wild Card Standings (as of 08/20/07) :

San Diego…. 66-57 .537 -

Philadelphia.. 65-58 .528 1.0

Atlanta………. 65-59 .524 1.5

LA Dodgers.. 64-60 .516 2.5

Colorado…… 63-60 .512 3.0

Milwaukee…. 63-61 .508 3.5

Outlook
In all likelihood, the NL Wild Card will come down to the last week of the season. Not only are many of these NL teams fighting for their wild card lives, they are still in contention for their respective division title. This puts even more pressure on these teams as the stretch run begins.

In the East, both the Braves and the Phillies made moves during the trading deadline and will be in contention for both the wild card and the division until the end. Between these two teams, the Braves have the better pitching and they also have a better team batting average. However, the Phillies have scored more runs than the Braves. Both teams have MVP-caliber players and the final part of each team’s schedule is similar as well, making this call look like a toss-up.

Of course, the Cubs, Rockies, Dodgers and Padres won’t be forgotten either. All of these teams have solid pitching (yes, even the Rockies who give up about 4 runs a game) and good hitting – save perhaps the Padres and Diamondbacks – meaning stats aren’t going to do much when it comes to making a pick here. Because of the fact these teams are really even, the safest bet is to go with a hunch.

With that in mind, my thinking is that the wild card winner is going to come from the East in either the Phillies or the Braves. As of this writing, both teams were 5 and 5.5 games behind the East-leading Mets, respectively and both teams have upcoming meetings with the Mets and each other. Of course, while these three teams are beating up on each other, a team like the Padres or even the Rockies could sneak in for the final NL Playoff representative. It should be a fun month or so. Stay Tuned.

The American League
The funny thing about all of this is you can take what I wrote about the National League and apply it to the AL – at least for the top two teams (this weekend did a lot to damage the Tigers chances but they can still catch the Indians). Will the Yankees catch the Red Sox for the division title (they have two more series left against the BoSox)? If they don’t, will they be able to secure the wild card spot? Questions, questions, questions. Before we can answer some of these, let’s take a look at what’s going on in the DH league:

Seattle…………. 69-52 .570 -

NY Yankees… 70-54 .565 0.5

Detroit…………. 67-57 .540 3.5

Toronto……….. 63-60 .512 7.0

Minnesota……. 62-61 .504 8.0

Oakland………. 61-64 .488 10.0

Outlook
While the Yanks and the hot streak they are on is the talk of the town; they still trail the Mariners in the wild card chase. So how will it all shake out? The Yankees have a tough schedule coming up but if they keep swinging the bats the way they have, they will be a tough out. They still have that knack for getting that final deciding run, continuing their climb out of that notorious early season slump.

Of course, Seattle is just as concerned with catching the California Angels (Freudian slip?) as the Yankees are with catching Boston… and even though there’s a month and 10 days left in the season, it looks like Minnesota (don’t you all wish Santana could pitch every inning?), Toronto and Oakland are pretty much out of it. That leaves the big 4. Detroit and Cleveland will be fighting for their division with perhaps the 2 nd place finisher missing out altogether.

Meaning we have – at this particular juncture anyway – another toss-up. At this point, my heart says the Yankees (not a fan, it’s more a dread feeling) but my head is thinking Seattle… Of course, the upcoming 3-game meeting between these two teams (09/03 – 09/05) could go a long way towards settling matters.

Chris Richardson is the web communication specialist for TicketSolutions.com. At Ticket Solutions, we have tickets for games to every MLB baseball game you can think of, including the World Series. Check out our MLB ticket inventory. Watch for the Ticket Solutions sports blog launching soon.

In News

Say ‘O’ For Baltimore Orioles Tickets!

Baltimore Orioles tickets are some of the hottest major league baseball tickets available today. No wonder, since the Orioles have certainly had their share of league titles in the past. Not only are the Orioles one of the oldest teams, but they also have a rich history and have given the world of baseball some really great classic players.The Orioles are perhaps best known for their golden years in the seventies and eighties but they are still a strong team to contend with today. Though the cynics might say the Orioles aren’t what they used to be, they are certainly a team that can give stiff competition to their opponents. There’s a reason why Baltimore Orioles tickets are still in such great demand.
A Rich Beginning

The modern day Baltimore Orioles were initially known as the Milwaukee Brewers, back in 1894. In 1902, the team was shifted to St. Louis where they also got a new name, the St. Louis Browns. The Browns had what many consider a dream run, establishing themselves as one of the strongest baseball teams at that time. However the team was relocated to Baltimore in 1954, after which the team unceremoniously landed at the very bottom of the barrel.

While the Browns left behind a legacy, it was up to the new Baltimore Orioles to make a name for them selves. They certainly had a legacy to live up to however and from 1966 to 1983, the Orioles managed to rake in three World Series Titles, American League Eastern Division titles and six American League pennants. Baltimore Orioles tickets were seen as winning tickets to enjoy one of the strongest teams in the major leagues. However this trend would take a downward turn by the end of the nineties which was alternately blamed on bad management and lackluster performances on the field. Things hit rock bottom in 2005, after which huge changes were made to shake up the team and bring it back into form. Despite this slump, the public has still supported the Orioles and Baltimore Orioles tickets were still sought after. In fact, in 2006 the fans launched a ‘Free The Birds’ campaign against the team’s ownership, which they felt was affecting the team’s performance.

The Famous ‘O’

The famous battle cry for the Baltimore Orioles has always been the ‘O’, which is accented when the Star Spangled Banner is sung. This is done to highlight the Baltimore accent in pronouncing ‘O’ but in recent times it has become almost non-existent at games, mainly due to recent patriotic concerns. The Orioles also have used a number of famous songs during play, the most popular being John Denver’s ‘Thank God I’m a Country Boy’. In recent times, the team has also used ‘Elevation’ by U2.

One of the reasons why Baltimore Orioles tickets are so popular is because fans get a chance to see some world class baseball players at their best. The Orioles have a number of players in the Baseball Hall of Fame, including names like Earl Weaver, Jim Palmer, Eddie Murray and Cal Ripkin. Jr. If you’re looking to take in some Orioles action, make sure you get your Baltimore Orioles tickets online through an authorized ticket vendor.

Al is the webmaster of the Baltimore Orioles Tickets site, a sports entertainment website with team and venue history as well as Baltimore Orioles tickets information.

In Teams

‘07 Trade Deadline Arrives With A Bang

July 31st was the final day for Major League Baseball to trade players to opposing teams without waiver restrictions — a period of time that sometimes fizzles and other times, like this year, provides a bevy of moves that gives all of the MLB mouthpieces plenty to talk about for the next few days (just like we are doing here). Not only do active trading periods provide sufficient journalistic fodder, they also indicate the final stretch run to the playoffs is about to begin.

So, did your team do enough to make a splash in October? Before your answer that, let’s look at a couple of the more compelling deals that went down before the 4pm EST deadline:

The Atlanta Braves add a Much-Needed Bat and some Kansas City Pitching Relief
In two separate deals, the Atlanta Braves acquired the rights to Texas slugger Marc Teixeira — who is considered one of best players available — and KC Royals reliever Octavio Dotel. Currently, the Braves trail the division leading New York Mets by 4.5 games and are locked in a 7-team race for the NL wild card spot (only 3.5 games separate the leader from the final contender).

Teixeira provides some needed pop in the Braves line-up and you can never turn down quality pitching. Plus with the Mets deciding to “dance with who brung em,” it’s safe to say the Braves will be in contention for the NL Central right until the end of the regular season. However, the same can be said for the division rival Philadelphia Phillies (currently ahead of the Braves in the NL East), who made some small but potentially effective moves of their own.

The question is, did the Braves do enough to make a difference? Considering the Braves’ 14-to-1 Division Championships/World Series Ring ratio, a stat that would even make the most bitter Buffalo Bills fan smile, the next question is would it matter if they did?

Braves Trading Deadline Roundup:

- Texas Rangers (fire sale anyone?) sends 1B Mark Teixeira and LHP Ron Mahay to the Braves for C Jarrod Saltalamacchia, SS Elvis Andrus, 2 minor leaguers to be named later.

- Kansas City sends RHP Octavio Dotel for RHP Kyle Davies

The Boston Red Sox Take a Quick Look in the Mirror, See Yanks Closing
In an effort to hold off the hard charging New York Yankees (Didn’t ESPN’s Mike Golic declare them dead? Nicely done there, Big G. I can only hope you curse my Wildcats the same way…), the BoSox entered the trade deadline festivities trying to shore up their already exceptional bullpen and add another bat to the line-up.

And how did they do? While failing to wrangle Jermaine Dye away from the Chicago White Sox, the Red Sox did manage to acquire Texas closer Eric Gagne — a long-proven closer who has converted on 16 of 17 save opportunities for the last place Texas Rangers who will only make the Sox’ bullpen that much better, at least on paper.

One out of two ain’t bad, especially in baseball. But is it enough to hold off the hated Yankees?

Red Sox Trading Deadline Roundup:

- The Texas Rangers continue to deal veteran talent by sending RHP Eric Gagne to the BoSox for LHP Kason Gabbard; minor leaguers David Murphy and Engel Beltre… and perhaps a pile of magic beans.

BoSox, Braves Not Only Active Teams
Of course, these aren’t the only teams to improve their lot, but Braves and the Red Sox did acquire the most notable players in Teixeira and Gagne. Other teams who made noteworthy moves: The San Diego Padres received plenty of pitching depth by trading RHP Scott Linebrink to the Milwaukee Brewers. Both teams are in contention for both the wild card and the championship of their respective NL division.

Surprisingly, the Yankees only made one move by sending RHP Scott Proctor to the Dodgers for a utility player Wilson Betemit. Is this enough to close the 8-game gap with the Red Sox? Probably not. Is it enough to secure them a wild card spot? Again, with such a non-noteworthy trade, it’s doubtful this is the move that seals the deal for the Yankees. All-in-all, it’s been a busy time for the MLB. Are you ready for the stretch run?

For an in-depth blogosphere response to the trade deadline shenanigans, check out Deadspin’s wrap-up. Of course, if reading awesome fan responses to the all the trading deadline news is your thing, check out Fark’s discussion thread. You won’t be disappointed.

Chris Richardson is the web communication specialist for Ticket Solutions. At Ticket Solutions, we have tickets for games to every MLB baseball game you can think of, including the World Series. Check out our MLB ticket inventory. Watch for the Ticket Solutions sports blog launching soon.

In Teams