The final week

It’s scarcely believable, but we have reached the final week of the 2008 regular season already.  With several play-off places still up for grabs, it promises to be a fascinating few days.  Unfortunately, the important nature of the games means that only a handful are being played during the daytime in the States.  That doesn’t provide British fans with many opportunities to watch/listen to some live baseball during the evening this week, but with the end of the regular season in sight we can at least appreciate these five games even more.  All times are listed in BST. 

Monday 22 September– One early game to start the week as the Marlins take on the Reds in a day game in Cincinnati.  Ricky Nolasco and Aaron Harang are the probable pitchers and first pitch is set for 18.10.  The Marlins will feel that a great final week could still see them sneeking into the postseason, while the Reds will simply be glad for the season to be over soon. 

Tuesday 23 September – The Rays and the Orioles are playing a double-header today.  The first game is scheduled to start at 22.05, with James Shields likely to be on the mound for Tampa Bay.  Expect the Orioles to be looking on with envy as the Rays get ready for their first tilt at the play-offs.

Wednesday 24 September– Another day, another single early game.  The final week always brings a lot of tense match-ups, but this isn’t going to be one of them.  The A’s take on the Rangers as the two AL West teams play out the string.  First pitch is at 19.05; Dana Eveland and Matt Harrison are the probable starters.

Thursday 25 September– The last ‘getaway’ Thursday of the season only produces two early games to enjoy.  The Rays take on the Tigers at Comerica Park from 18.05.  Not many would have predicted that Detroit would be the ones ticking off the games during the final week when they looked at this fixture back in March.  At 19.15, it’s the D-Backs against the Cardinals.  Not much was expected of the Cards this year and they look likely to finish around about where most people thought they would.  As for the D-Backs, how they approach this game will depend on the results over the previous few days.  They may be right in the thick of the action, or they may be out of it completely. 

Friday 26 September – No early games to end the working week. 

The Wednesday night game on Five begins at 01.25, while NASN’s MLB schedule for the week can be found here.