Contenders and Pretenders

By the end of the day, we should certainly know what teams plan on contending for the playoffs and what teams are re-loading in anticipation of next year. The trade deadline has a way of making it pretty obvious who thinks they can play in the postseason. Thus far, these are my contenders:

• Chicago Cubs/Milwaukee Brewers - I'm putting these two teams together because they are 1 and 2 in the NL Central division, and they seemingly are battling on every front. The Brewers mortgaged it all to get C.C. Sabathia in their pitching rotation. Then, the Cubs respond by getting Rich Harden from the A's. The Cubs are dealing a big blow though this week by winning the first three games of a four game series in Milwaukee. The Brewers are now 4 games back but still the Wild Card leader in the standings. I predict both of these teams are playoff bound.
• Los Angeles Angels - By trading for Mark Teixeira, (who is in the last year of his contract, represented by agent Scott Boras, and who turned down an extension offer from the Braves and previously, the 8 year $140million deal from the Texas Rangers) the Angels are saying we are going for it all. They've got the best outfield in baseball. They've got now another great bat in switch-hitter Teixeira to shore up what had been their weak spot and they've arguably got the best pitching in baseball. K-Rod is going to be a free-agent after the season. Vlad Guerrero is on the decline. Of course they are going for it. And they might win it.
• The New York Yankees - Of course they are contenders. They are going for it every year. It's World Series or bust in New York every season. Now they've got Pudge Rodriguez as a veteran leader and still a pretty good catcher to make up for the loss of injured Jorge Posada. And they've got Damaso Marte, Xavier Nady, and Richie Sexson for relatively little given up to make their August-September run. They may be playoff bound, but only if the Red Sox continue to tailspin and they certainly aren't World Series bound this season.
• Detroit Tigers/Chicago White Sox - Everyone is making a big deal of the Reds dealing Ken Griffey, Jr. to the White Sox, but don't discount Kyle Farnsworth in Detroit's bullpen. First of all, Detroit needs bullpen help. And they've got a good catcher in Brandon Inge so losing Pudge is no big deal. Detroit is only 5 1/2 games back in the AL Central and they are still in the Wild Card mix. The Detroit/Chicago/Minnesota grind out should make for some good drama in September.

And the Pretenders? Sorry Texas Rangers' fans. Not this year but next looks pretty good. Do whatever you can today and get another prospect or two if you can find someone to take Gerald Laird, Kevin Millwood, or Vincente Padilla. I'm not saying you don't continue battling it out for the possibility of the Wild Card. But, it's unlikely that they will get it and there is no way anyone is catching the Angels in the AL West for that division. The Tampa Bay Rays are pretenders too.