For now, a bit of updated playoff analysis.

Clinched

The Yankees have clinched the division title, but playoff questions remain.  Specifically, after you start C.C. Sabathia, then what happens? A.J. Burnett has been good at times, but terribly inconsistent.  Pettite–despite the sore shoulder–is probably your best bet for a number two, because he at least eats some innings, even when he’s off.  Because of the extra days off in the first series, this won’t be an issue right away.

The Angels have also clinched. But they always get swept in the first round.  Will this year be different?  Well, last year they needed a bat, and got swept despite the addition of Mark Texeira.  This year they didn’t add that bat. So….you be the judge.  (They have, however, added Scott Kazmir, late of Tampa Bay, so their pitching is solider than in past years.)

St. Louis….looks like St. Louis. They clinched their division behind Pujols, and they’ll play in the playoffs behind Pujols.  They’re not especially exciting, but they’re getting the job done. Again.

Playoff Bound

The Dodgers have clinched their second playoff berth in a row under manager Joe Torre, and they look good going into the playoffs.  With Manny Ramirez’s famously torrid postseason play on their side, they could go far.

Questionmarks

The Red Sox had a magic number of 1 to clinch a playoff berth …three days ago.  They still have that 1.  They’re imploding, and if Texas weren’t quite so far back…well, actually this might still be a race.  The Sox just got swept by the Yankees and lost one to Toronto last night. Why? Who knows.

Texas is less than likely to make the playoffs–their collapse in the month of August was nothing short of spectacular.  They control their own destiny only minimally, but hey, miracles happen.

The Rockies, the little team that could, could also still make the playoffs.  We’ll see…

Detroit and Minnesota: playing a doubleheader today with the Twins two games back.  Update on that one later.

Pudge Rodriguez is headed back to Arlington to lend his bat and leadership to the Rangers. Rodriguez, who has been with the Astros, is batting only .251 this year in 93 games, but his veteran presence will provide depth and a soothing influence in the playoff run, where  Texas doesn’t usually find itself.

We said it last week, and we’ll say it again.  The Rangers are playoff-bound.

As for the Astros, they–finally–are picking up a couple of prospects…no word yet on names.  We’ll check that out later for our Houston readers.

Right now, what UPH is thinking about is other drugs in sports, and the effect that the steroid-permissive culture might have on them.  Now that we’ve told you what the post is going to be about, we guess you don’t have to click the jump, but if you want to, feel free to Josh Hamilton, whose struggles with alcohol and cocaine, among other drugs, almost derailed his promising career, admitted a few days ago that he fell off the wagon: not just one drink, in fact, but a whole bender.  And yes, we know that for former addicts one drink can be just as bad–we’re not claiming to be experts on alcoholism, so please don’t jump on us for that part.  You’ll miss our point, and if you’ve read this far, that would be sad.

Hamilton made a drunk idiot out of himself with some girls, and then he called his support system–wife, manager, GM, teammates–and explained himself and asked for help, as he has so many times before.  The former number one draft pick went to rehab many times before it stuck, but stuck it has, and he is brave and responsible for owning up to his error and describing it in unflinching language.  This is a man who isn’t letting himself off the hook.

How hard is it to be Josh Hamilton? We don’t pretend we could possibly know, but it must be fairly hard.  Pro sports, looking only at bare facts, puts a lot of young guys together, often, in cities they don’t know, with tons of money, tons of new friends, and some serious time on their hands.  Also, half the time (if you play for a .500 team, that is), you’ve got something to celebrate, too.  Falling into drug or alcohol addiction in those circumstances makes as much sense as it can make in any.

Without getting too personal, let us say that UPH’s life has been touched by addiction: we can’t imagine the worry, the pain, and most staggeringly–to us at least–the trust it takes for a friend or family member of a player prone to addictive behaviors to let that player go out on the road.

But the worst part of this?  Certainly, there are players out there who will support others in sobriety, and who will act as sponsers, and do whatever else they can.  But in some ways, they may be fighting a losing battle, because whether or not we as fans want to face it, athletes take drugs.  They use substances–legal or not–to enhance performance.  While nobody’s equating a snort of coke with a shady supplement, the lines are blurry.  Some athletes use amphetimines.  So do some addicts.  How can anyone be sure the culture of the locker room and clubhouse isn’t colliding with the circumstances of an athlete’s free time to make addiction all the more likely?

We can’t.

And that’s the saddest part of the steroids thing.

AL East

It’s hard to believe that the Yankees’ 6.5 game lead isn’t a commanding one at this point, especially given the Sox still-slumping bats (here’s looking at you, Jason Bay), and exhausted bullpen.  The Sox schedule is tough from here on out, too, with lots of games against contenders and plenty of time to face Tampa Bay, seemingly everyone’s nemesis.  (A few years ago, Derek Jeter was quoted as saying that the Devil Rays really had the Yankees’ number that year, and everyone laughed.  Now, nobody in Red Sox Nation’s laughing.)  Meanwhile, the Yankees get to play Oakland and Kansas City. Case closed.

AL Central

This is the AL race that could really surprise us.  Detroit’s in the lead right now, but we think that the White Sox, especially with the addition of Alex Rios, are going to end up taking it: Detroit’s been too spotty in recent years, and while the White Sox have a slightly tougher schedule, they also have a more reliable bullpen, Mark Buehrle, and now, a bat they needed.  Rios has been with the Blue Jays a long time before this, and he might well be one of those players who does phenomenal things when suddenly playing for a contender.  We think the White Sox are a force to be reckoned with, and it’ll be the Tigers doing the reckoning from their couches, come October.

AL West

This one is also close, but the Angels have Guerrero back, are coming off a sweep of the Giants, are used to making the playoffs, and have an easier month of August.  September’s another story for all these teams, when they all play each other like crazy, but we think the Angels are going to slowly pull away from Texas, who are currently hanging just 3.5 games back.  Whether they make it out of the first round of the playoffs, well, that’s been a historical problem for them.  But that’s another column.  (One that’ll piss off one of UPH’s best friends, so we’ll hold off.)  The truth here is that the Angels don’t need rally monkeys–they just need to keep doing what they’re doing and ride the wave.  As for Texas?  See below.

AL Wild Card

Boston, Texas, Detroit, and Tampa Bay are the real contenders here: the White Sox are going to play spoiler, even if they make the playoffs.  They’re 7 games back in the Wild Card race, but we think they’ll end up taking their division, and playing havoc with the rest of the standings in September.  In one crazy period of a bit more than a week, they play Boston, the Angels, and Seattle. and then at the end of the month three versus Detroit.  Meanwhile, the rest of these teams are all playing either each other or other contenders as well.  We’re not really seeing a late surge from Tampa Bay–they don’t seem to have the chemistry they did last year–but we think Texas is hungry, and might finally end up in the playoffs again. We’re looking forward to revisiting this during the craziness of the September schedules, but for now, that’s our pick.

But today, Appalachian State had some bad news: their quarterback, three-time All-American Armanti Edwards, is out for 2-4 weeks with….a mowing injury?  Yup. He was mowing his lawn.  Now, UPH lives in what we’ll charitably call an urban mecca (there’s certainly enough traffic!), and thus has no lawn.  But we’re pretty sure we’ve previously mowed one without running over our foot…

Other sports injuries that make UPH feel coordinated?

–In 2001, Leeds United’s Rio Ferdinand spent too long with his feet on the coffee table…and strained a muscle in his tendon when he got up for his next beer.

–in 1995, Milan Rapaic of Hajduk Split in the Balkans missed a game after he stuck his boarding pass in his eye while boarding his flight.

–Atlanta Braves manager Roger Craig once cut his hand on a bra strap.  We assume he took one for the team and kept playing…

–Ken Griffey Jr. once missed a game because he pinched himself in his own cup. Ow. UPH clearly has not ever done this, but we told this story to our boyfriend, and he cringed.

–And finally, relief pitcher Greg Harris of the Texas Rangers injured his wrist….flicking sunflower seeds in the dugout.