Where Things Stand: 2021 MLB Edition Part 3-Finale
“We’re in the endgame now.” — Dr. Steven Strange
I didn’t have a good follow-up to that. I just wanted to cap off Where Things Stand: 2021 MLB Edition’s finale with that quote.
It’s hard to believe we’re now on the Part 3 Finale. If you need to catch up on this year’s prior two editions, Here’s Part 1 and Part 2.
At times, my motivation to write the past few weeks has been near zero, but a moment in time has re-energized me to finally write this edition up, given we also had the release of WTS: 2021 NFL Edition Part 1.
But hey! We finally have the playoff teams and are getting through this 162 game grind after the weirdness that was 2020. The designations are as follows:
X for the other division winners
Y for wild cards
Without further ado, let the… Well, at first it was going to be shredding, but now…
Screw it! Time to get to the AL East.
*Note: All team page hyperlinks are to Baseball Reference.
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AL East
X-Tampa Bay: 35–20 | Part 2: 63–42 | Part 3: 100–62
Y-Boston: 32–21 | Part 2: 62–43 | Part 3: 92–70
Y-NY Yankees: 29–25 | Part 2: 55–48 | Part 3: 92–70
Toronto: 27–25 | Part 2: 53–48 | Part 3: 91–71
Baltimore: 17–37 | Part 2: 37–66 | Part 3: 52–110
State of the AL East:
Tampa Bay: Here’s a fun stat that you might not have known: Austin Meadows is the first 100 RBI player Tampa Bay has had since 2010. Evan Longoria hit 104 that season.
The Rays may not have a true superstar on their roster (Wander Franco is going to get there either next year or in 2023), but they are the most complete team I’ve seen in ages.
Having locked up the first postseason berth in the American League, they only have a few pitchers who are starters in the truest sense (Shane McClanahan and Ryan Yarbrough), with a well-oiled bullpen able to pick up slack.
They’ve locked up and promoted executive Erik Neander, and now it’s a matter of trying to get over the hump this postseason and win the title. And can you believe this third straight trip to October is the longest such streak in franchise history?
One final note: Please figure out a way to stay in Tampa Bay. Even the fans demand it.
Boston: Part of me wondered if the Red Sox would have missed out on the postseason after their COVID-19 outbreaks decimating their roster and possibly taking them out of the running for the Wild Card.
How wrong I was. Alex Cora’s return after a year-long “hiatus” seemed to get this team back on track.
Chris Sale is healthy, the lineup is solid, and now it’s a matter of getting past the division winning Rays who I believe are even better than their 2020 counterparts.
Good luck. You’ll need it!
New York: Derek Jeter’s induction to Cooperstown didn’t receive the same amount of attention as I thought it would, but I wanted to make sure I mentioned it here. As much as I despise the Yankees, I respect their last ever captain.
The Bronx Bombers made it three teams from the AL East who made it into October, though if they had just lost to Tampa on the last day of the regular season, we would have had a chance at a Game 163!
But I digress, as I’m about to break my rule of not including anything related to postseason action in WTS once the games start. Even I don’t think Zack Britton could have helped you in this scenario after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
Intern Paul, get the video for the Yankees failure. It warms my heart after my quota for big market teams not missing the playoffs wasn’t reached to see this.
Toronto: SO CLOSE!!
Despite pulling off a feat against the Yankees that the Bronx Bombers hadn’t experienced in nearly 100 years, Toronto was sent home as the fourth 90-plus game winner in this division.
This team is loaded with young talent. Robbie Ray and Marcus Semien are free agents this winter, and it makes me wonder how much Mark Shapiro will be able to spend to retain at least one of those key players.
Well done, Blue Jays. You are on the right track to October baseball.
Baltimore: The Orioles snapped a 19-game losing streak back on August 25. That was a nice night for the Orioles. I can’t say the same about their season as a whole.
Trey Mancini should win comeback player of the year (because screw cancer), and Cedric Mullins looks to be on his way to stardom after abandoning switch hitting during the offseason and getting a starting nod for the All-Star game.
There’s further hope on the farm, as catcher Adley Rutschman and pitchers Grayson Rodriguez and DL Hall should all be ready by next season.
The O’s aren’t back to relevance yet, but they’ll be able to have some fun in 2022.
AL Central
X-CHI White Sox: 33–21 | Part 2: 61–44 | Part 3: 93–69
Cleveland: 29–24 | Part 2: 51–50 | Part 3: 80–82
Detroit: 22–32 | Part 2: 50–57 | Part 3: 77–85
Kansas City: 26–26 | Part 2: 45–58 | Part 3: 74–88
Minnesota: 22–31 | Part 2: 44–61 | Part 3: 73–89
State of the AL Central:
Chicago: Okay, congratulations White Sox, you’re going to the playoffs.
I’ve said it before, but I saw this coming two years ago. I still don’t know how they’ll fare in a postseason series. It’s either they win the World Series or lose in the divisional series. There’s no gray area here.
Somehow, someway, Tony La Russa has steered his squad to October (at the expense of my fantasy baseball ambitions).
Here’s a piece of advice: Don’t waste this year. At least three of your divisional rivals will be true contenders over the next two years, and you’ll have to work for that crown again.
Cleveland: Uhhhh… I just wanted to include this because I found it funny. I don’t ever recall seeing THAT before.
Also what the heck Ernie Clement?! Intern Mindy, please roll the footage!
Now to the main discourse.
I was a little more optimistic about the Indians, and I was off by a couple of wins. I was projecting between 81–84, though when you lose a trio of reliable starters, Logan Allen falters, and Triston McKenzie needed extra seasoning, regression was bound to happen.
Here’s the positives to take from this final Indians campaign: The soon to be Guardians have their rotation settled with Shane Bieber, Aaron Civale, Zach Plesac, McKeznie and Cal Quantrill rounding out the starting five and reliable depth now on the farm.
Speaking of farm depth, the team has enough prospect capital and a 40-man roster crunch with several prospects in need of protection that a blockbuster trade is likely to occur. My personal favorite target is first baseman Matt Olson from Oakland. Admittedly, the first base job is Bobby Bradley’s to lose.
And I normally delve more into the team specifics rather than the “culture war debate” on the nickname, so let me say a few things.
The old name was offensive, and I did research on names like the Indians in sports for a college paper to challenge myself and see what the story actually was, even if it countered my own beliefs.
I will have an attachment to the Indians, but it doesn’t mean I’m going to love the Guardians any less. They aren’t moving and have a contending roster for the next two-to-three years. This team will be fine.
At the same time, I hear and have seen so many fans mourning the change, and I understand how you feel but imagine you win a World Series as the Guardians in the next few years. Wouldn’t that feel like a shot of good karma?
I’ll close by saying this to the fans who say they won’t root for the Cleveland Guardians next year and beyond: It’s your right, and your prerogative. But if the Guardians start having success, I will not let you climb onto the bandwagon right away.
We as fans will miss what we grew up with. Nobody likes change. I’m one of those people where change often gets me wound up outside of what I do day-to-day, but I assure you that everything will be okay.
For one final time, Go Indians and Go Tribe!
Detroit: UH OH! THE TIGERS ARE GONNA BUILD ANOTHER JUGGERNAUT!!!
This isn’t me snarking. I am legitimately scared. Spencer Torkleson and others lurk in the minors while the big league roster has seen some of its best pitching talent move from the farm to the rotation.
This is the 2019 White Sox all over again. The AL Central will be very competitive moving forward if Detroit decides to spend money again.
Kansas City: What can I say about the Royals? I know they’ve got the pieces to rise from the doldrums and compete again.
My hesitancy lies with one or two players. Hunter Dozier hasn’t been the same since testing positive for COVID-19 prior to the opening series of the 2020 season in Cleveland and was brutal all year.
On top of that, Kansas City’s more promising arms haven’t truly stood out as legitimate aces. I see second starter stuff, but no one has made that jump as of yet.
I feel like I’m sleeping on them, but if Bobby Witt Jr. comes as good as advertised, perhaps things could change.
Minnesota: This was such a disappointing season for the Twins. While there’s a couple of All-Star talents on the big league roster, how long will Derek Falvey take to flip them? And by them, I mean Josh Donaldson and Byron Buxton.
I didn’t expect such a massive fall but perhaps this reset is what they needed. The Twins finally got a look at future pieces.
I’m still shocked you managed to pry Austin Martin from the Blue Jays for Jose Berrios. If Martin pans out like I think he will… that’s a problem for the AL Central.
AL West
X-Houston: 29–24 | Part 2: 64–41 | Part 3: 95–67
Seattle: 28–27 | Part 2: 56–49 | Part 3: 90–72
Oakland: 31–25 | Part 2: 59–47 | Part 3: 86–76
LA Angels: 24–30 | Part 2: 52–52 | Part 3: 77–85
Texas: 22–33 | Part 2: 37–67 | Part 3: 60–102
State of the AL West:
Houston: I am still livid that the Asterisks won this division. This shouldn’t be happening. Where is the horrible Asterisks team of the early 2010s?!
Just lose in October before the World Series. I’m done with you…
Seattle: 90 wins. I couldn’t have expected that from this Mariners ballclub, but they did it. Seattle defied the odds and competed for a Wild Card spot until the final day of the season.
Alas, they fell just short, but this season only means there’s more to be optimistic about moving forward.
If you told me this Mariners team would just miss the postseason, I’d have said not bringing up Jarred Kelenic was the reason why. Well, not quite, as he still needed some seasoning and had his share of struggles. A lot of rookies did.
I believe Kelenic will be just fine, and with the pursestrings reportedly loosened to go and spend on a few missing pieces, I’m curious what this squad could do.
Oakland: I didn’t expect the A’s to collapse. Not one bit.
Here’s the bitter reality Oakland faces: A huge arbitration class that will need to be blown up.
I think it’s safe to say that you’ll be waving goodbye to at least one of Matt Olson or Matt Chapman. Perhaps both!
And with the A’s never able to get over the hump, you might wonder if Billy Beane goes to the Mets, amid a potential lockout this winter.
Decisions, decisions.
LA Angels: I would blast you even harder for basically not treating Mike Trout’s calf injury as a tear instead of a strain. Shame on you Arte Moreno! You’re wasting one of the game’s top two talents.
The other, Shohei Ohtani, has put on record he’s willing to re-sign with the franchise, though that’s typical to hear from most players.
2022 is do-or-die. You either make the postseason next year, or if this series continues, you’ll be completely dismantled on the level of the 2020 New York Jets in your end of season narrative review!
I would say prove me wrong, but I’m doubting that you can. Time is ticking in Anaheim.
Texas: I have nothing for you, just like the team on the field. Over 100 losses, and I have almost no drama from the Rangers for shred-worthy material.
Get out of my sight until next year! Normally I’m kinder to you, but I need to see you grow up a bit.
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Why is it always the National League that I find far easier to shred teams for incompetence and never-ending narratives?! Strap in folks! It’s showtime!!
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NL East
X-Atlanta: 25–26 | Part 2: 52–53 | Part 3: 88–73
Philadelphia: 25–29 | Part 2: 51–53 | Part 3: 82–80
NY Mets: 26–20 | Part 2: 55–48 | Part 3: 77–85
Miami: 24–28 | Part 2: 44–60 | Part 3: 67–95
Washington: 21–29 | Part 2: 48–56 | Part 3: 65–97
State of the NL East:
Atlanta: “The Braves have continued their nightmare season, and yet, still have a chance to win this god forsaken division.”
Well, congratulations! You’ve won another NL East title. I guess all those outfield trades worked out after all.
The bad news is I don’t think Atlanta is going very far. They don’t have the pitching, and Acuna still being down is not going to help matters.
Carry on.
Philadelphia: “Make the playoffs or face the Fleagles’ punishment! I won’t hesitate to pull the trigger!”
That’s it! I don’t care about your over .500 record for the first time in ages! You completely screwed up and haven’t made it back to the postseason with the assembled talent, and Bryce Harper playing like an MVP!
The Philadelphia Flailies can’t seem to get over the damn hump and have given me another Philly punching bag!
~Enjoy another early holiday season guys!~ Ya earned it!!
I’ll make a compromise with you. Play at least average to start next year, and the Flailies moniker goes. You did get above .500, so I’m willing to play nice.
NY Mets: “Well, it seems like every Amazin’ Met was going to wind up on the injured list at some point, and Lindor is honestly making Amed Rosario look far better than he should at the plate. Lindor’s defense is still elite, and I miss him only for that as I write this piece.
He did get his good friend, and the guy the Cubs took instead of Lindor in Javier Baez to join the squad as his double play partner for two months, so that’ll be exciting.”
LOLMets
I seriously debated making that the narrative, but with some new knowledge and ~several royal screw-ups~, the LOLMets get some well deserved shredding.
Francisco Lindor hasn’t been the same player since 2018, and people know it. I won’t say anything more than that because I’m not getting my ass sued for anything but consider this a vague look into the world of Lindor.
Heck, deadline acquisition Javier Baez and the Mets threw some shade back at Mets fans for their “Thumbs Down” gestures and were rightfully ripped for it.
You remember Jared Porter? The GM who had to resign well before the season due to several credible allegations of misconduct? The interim, Zack Scott, got caught driving from a Mets function with a DUI. He’s gone.
So is Luis Rojas, but he did nothing bad. He was just put into an impossible situation.
Now then, what else has gone wrong?
Almost literally everyone on the roster besides Marcus Stroman and Edwin Diaz ended up getting injured, the mishandling of the Jacob deGrom injury, poor offensive production, failing to sign your top pick, and the thumbs down incident. You get it.
LOLMets. PROVE ME WRONG FRANCISCO!
Miami: I had such high hopes for you, but a 60 game season will do that. My stocks in the Marlins have been placed into 2022’s team at 20% faith and 80% in 2023.
Kim Ng is assembling a good roster, and it’s only a matter of time before things come together. Jeff Loria getting the hell out of dodge only started the healing process. Now comes the hard part of actually fielding the contender I see lurking around the corner.
Washington: Extend Juan Soto.
That’s it. Get it done. Get Stephen Strausburg and Patrick Corbin straightened out and then get back to me. I don’t care if you have to deal with Scott Boras. Fernando Tatis Jr. gave you at least one template to use.
You are dismissed. See ya next year, Nationals.
NL Central
X-Milwaukee: 29–25 | Part 2: 62–43 | Part 3: 95–67
Y-St. Louis: 30–24 | Part 2: 52–52 | Part 3: 90–72
Cincinnati: 24–28 | Part 2: 55–50 | Part 3: 83–79
CHI Cubs: 30–23 | Part 2: 51–55 | Part 3: 71–91
Pittsburgh: 20–33 | Part 2: 40–64 | Part 3: 61–101
State of the NL Central:
Milwaukee: The Brewers managed to put together a very solid campaign and earned themselves a fourth straight trip to the Postseason.
The pitching is elite and right now, I wonder if the only thing that can stop them is themselves. I’d give them a fighting chance against the rest of the field with the five starters they have. It almost rivals some of Cleveland’s old rotations.
I want a Tampa Bay and Milwaukee World Series. Please do it!
St. Louis: You guys caught my attention with your 17 wins in a row. I somehow took you as dead men walking, unlike two years ago.
Your reward is a one game winner-take-all contest against the reigning champs. Too bad you lost on a walk-off in the bottom of the ninth after going blow for blow. It was a fantastic game!
Hey, the Cardinals are the “Midwestern Evil Empire.” I don’t really pity them much.
Cincinnati: For those not versed in the infamous legend of Nick Castellanos, he will hit home runs and destroy everything in his path on dates of historical or currently happening disasters. It doesn’t matter when or where. He will do it, and even his wife cannot stop the internet from the memeing.
With that said, Nick Castellanos hit a home run on 9/11. His home run made it a 4–0 ballgame. Just like the god damn meme from 2020.
Intern Randy, please queue the Illuminati theme.
I won’t repeat the meme despite wanting to snark. This man is a walking calamity for moments of tragedy. I don’t know how MLB’s Big Nick does it, but he needs to stop for the sake of humanity!
CHI Cubs: Sweet bliss! The Cubs suck again!
To Cubbie fans, it’s only so sweet due to how obnoxious you all were after the 2016 World Series. I wasn’t that salty about Cleveland losing. What went wrong were the fans losing all sense of civility, and ownership crying poor.
The last one especially didn’t help your case. I will say that I hope you get one of Javier Baez, Anthony Rizzo or Kris Bryant back. Do that, and I think I can bury the hatchet for a little while.
I’ll at least say David Ross found a way to make me laugh.
Pittsburgh: At this point, I only acknowledge the Pirates’ existence. I’ve beaten them to a bloody pulp a few too many times to make it funny anymore.
Enjoy your get out of jail free card Pittsburgh. I am merciful when the circumstances warrant it or on a whim.
NL West
X-San Francisco: 34–20 | Part 2: 65–39 | Part 3: 107–55
Y-LA Dodgers: 32–22 | Part 2: 63–43 | Part 3: 106–56
San Diego: 34–21 | Part 2: 60–47 | Part 3: 79–83
Colorado: 20–34 | Part 2: 46–59 | Part 3: 74–87
Arizona: 19–36 | Part 2: 33–72 | Part 3: 52–110
State of the NL West:
San Francisco: I’m speechless. The Giants actually went wire-to-wire and won the LA Dodgers Invitational Division! And they secured said division on the last day of the season, no less.
Color me impressed! This playoff push wasn’t behind some crazy youth movement. San Francisco did it with a team littered with veterans, which seems kind of crazy.
I’m curious as to how far you’ll go. I really have no clue as to how this National League field will shake out in the end.
LA Dodgers: The Dodgers were really damn good in the second half and down the stretch, but the Giants snapped a nearly decade-long string of division titles.
It might have helped them if 2019 National League MVP Cody Bellinger didn’t disappear due to a combination of injuries and mechanics, but there’s still hope for him.
It’s going to hurt not having Clayton Kershaw with an elbow ailment, and the same goes for Max Muncy, but the Dodgers have ridiculous depth, and I don’t think I’m worried about them.
Also, here’s a Moookie Betts appreciation moment.
San Diego: Disappointing.
The expectations of this San Diego Padres squad may have been a bit unfair after the progress made during the 60 game season and postseason.
Jayce Tingler has been ousted and right now, A.J. Preller has some serious questions to address with one of the games highest payrolls.
One of them is who do you hire to replace the unproven Tingler? Ron Washington, Dusty Baker and Bruce Bochy would be among my favorites, though it’s harder for me to identify managerial candidates in baseball than coaching candidates in the NFL. I wish Sandy Alomar Jr. would get his chance, though the next hire needs to be a capable leader.
Still, if you put a gun to my head and asked me how they fare in 2022, I’d tell you one of the two wild cards because the Giants will likely regress, and the Dodgers will still be tough to beat.
You blew it, but I’ll let ya guys off the hook. Just make sure you fix the pitching and that should flip a few games over to the win column.
I still marvel at this Jake Croneworth tweet I quoted a while back. Crazy!
Also, I forgot to mention a relief pitcher hitting a grand salami last edition so here it is! A Daniel Camarena Grand Slam off of Max Scherzer.
Colorado: I’m going to say this once. The Rockies are colossal, royal screw-ups who don’t deserve another word after this.
~I hope the compensation pick from Trevor Story is worth not bringing back pieces to assist the rebuilding process you schmucks!~
Arizona: Get better. You lost a lot. It’s too easy to pick on you.
I mean, do you flip an affordable Ketel Marte for prospects? There’s certainly a few pieces of talent, but when is a return to contention even feasible?
I have no clue what direction the Diamondbacks will go this offseason in terms of roster building, but it better be enough to have fewer than 100 losses.
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What is with the surprise entrants to this division? I get after the crackdown on the sticky stuff we haven’t seen as many, but this is shocking.
This division may not exist next year, but I’ll milk it for all its worth right now.
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No-Hitter Division
Cleveland Indians: 3-Carlos Rodon, White Sox (April 14), Wade Miley, Reds (May 7), and Corbin Burnes/Josh Hader, Brewers (September 11)
Texas Rangers: 2-Joe Musgrove, Padres (April 9) and Corey Kluber, Yankees (May 19)
Seattle Mariners: 2-John Means, Orioles (May 5) and Spencer Turnbull, Tigers (May 18)
Los Angeles Dodgers: 1-Zach Davies and Cubs Bullpen (June 24)
San Diego Padres: 1-Tyler Gilbert, Diamondbacks (August 4)
Cleveland: I wanted to make a “save the best for last joke” here, but I’ll just be blunt. They’re the “Winners” of the No-Hitter Division. The fact I was covering games in the press box for the game in May and then on 9/11 is crazy.
What’s even crazier is Zach Plesac was on the mound as the starter for every one of those games. Only one other pitcher has been on the receiving end of three no-hitters, and that was over an ENTIRE CAREER.
Maybe the name change will produce some good mojo and end over 40 years of not having thrown a no-no or a perfecto.
LA Dodgers: “I won’t make your pain last long. Just get one of the Diamondbacks or Rockies here in Part 3, and we’ll call it even.”
I’m disappointed but not surprised you didn’t take up my challenge. ~Go win your World Series just like you always try to do here.~
San Diego: Okay, so the Diamondbacks did find their way onto this list, except they threw the no-hitter against… the Padres.
Well, you need a bright spot somewhere. It would have been a lot funnier if the Friars were going to the postseason after their second-half collapse.
Tyler Gilbert. He’ll be mostly forgotten and a baseball factoid in a few years.
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That is a wrap with Where Things Stand: 2021 MLB Edition! I want to thank everyone who took part in the journey and enjoyed the ride. A big thank you goes out to Brandon Lewis for his dedication and work on all WTS editions.
I’ll be completely honest, I really don’t know if the MLB Edition is coming back next season. I hit a creative wall after Part 2 went live, and I don’t want to deliver lackluster content if it means I don’t have the drive to do it right.
I still intend to keep writing the NFL Edition unless I’m barred from doing so, but if I continue on the MLB track moving forward, any announcement will come from my Twitter.
Until next time, stay safe everyone!
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Sean Fitzgerald is an award-winning journalist and co-host of The Weekenders Podcast with Mitch Spinell. Follow him on Twitter @fitzonsportsbsr for insights and occasional livestreams, as well as here on medium.com.
