Bewerbungen » Dylan Buell/Getty ImagesOne week remains in the 2018

MLB regular season Brandon Kintzler Jersey , and the playoff picture is finally starting to take shape.So far, five teams have clinched a spot in the postseason. The Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians and Atlanta Braves have secured their respective divisions, the Houston Astros have sealed a spot andhave a lead in theirdivision race, and the New York Yankees will be one of the participants in the AL Wild Card Game.What remains is essentially six teams fighting for five spots, with three division titles still to be decided.An updated look at thepostseason bracket is available at MLB.com.Below are the AL and NL wild-card standings, along with each team's odds of reaching the postseason following Sunday's action, according to FanGraphs.American Leaguex-New York Yankees,95-60 (WC1); 100.0 percent playoff oddsOakland Athletics,94-62 (WC2); 100.0 percent playoff oddsTampa Bay Rays, 87-68 (6.5 GB); 0.0 percent playoff oddsSeattle Mariners Tanner Roark Jersey , 85-70 (8.5 GB); eliminated from playoffsNational LeagueMilwaukee Brewers, 89-67 (WC1); 99.0 percent playoff oddsSt. Louis Cardinals, 87-69 (WC2); 79.6 percent playoff oddsColorado Rockies,85-70 (1.5 GB); 27.4 percent playoff oddsArizona Diamondbacks, 79-77 (8.0 GB); eliminated from playoffs OutlookThearon W. Henderson/Getty ImagesThe American League side of things is all but decided, as the Rays' elimination number stands at one heading into the week. That means that the next win by Oakland or loss by Tampa Bay will officially clinch a spot for the A's.The AL Wild Card Game will be played on October 3and can be seen on TBS.The National League side is a bit more cluttered.The Chicago Cubs hold a 2.5-game lead over the Brewers in the NL Central standings, with the Cardinals at 4.5 games back, so there's still a chance for both of those teams to seize the division title.The same goes for the Rockies, who trail the Los Angeles Dodgers by 1.5 games in the NL West standings.So let's take a closer look at the remaining schedules for each of those five teams:CHC:vs. PIT (4), vs. STL (3)MIL:at STL (3), vs. DET (3)STL:vs. MIL (3) Khris Davis Jersey , at CHC (3)LAD:at ARI (3), at SF (3)COL:vs. PHI (4), vs. WAS (3)And here's a look at how each team has performed in September, to give an idea of their momentum:CHC:12-9 (+5 RD)MIL:13-7 (+43 RD)STL:11-10 (+8 RD)LAD:14-7 (+47 RD)COL:13-8 (+22 RD)The Cardinals have the toughest road ahead as they face off against the Cubs and Brewers. That also means they control their own destiny to some degree, as a big final week could vault them into the division lead.The Rockies might actually have the most favorable remaining schedule with series against a pair of non-contenders at home, but they're at an obvious disadvantage with a 1.5-game deficit to bridge in both the wild-card race and the NL West standings.The NL Wild Card Game will be played on October 2, and ESPN will have the broadcast. Seriously. Is Spring Training Photo Day the only time Salvy ISN’T smiling?"Among the best parts of spring training are all the silly questions we get to ask ourselves about roster construction. Who could be healthy? Who could force their way onto the big league roster? Is Bubba Starling a big league player now that he’s hit 2 bombs in one spring training game?Unfortunately, not all the news is good. Danny Duffy is already being held back with shoulder tightness. The team says it’s probably normal and they’re just being cautious, which is good. But he’s been hurt so many times you can’t but wonder how “normal” it is. And, even worse, it sounds like human smile machine Salvador Perez may be out for the season.So if Sal is out http://www.athleticsfanproshop.com/authentic-khris-davis-jersey , what should the Royals do? It sounds like they’re in contact with the only man to unseat Salvy, however temporarily, from his Gold Glove throne in 2017, Martin Maldonado. Martin was a well-below-average-hitting catcher for the Angels and Astros last year. Also on the market are better-defense-as-a-DH Evan Gattis and assault-with-a-deadly-weapon-no-that-is-not-a-joke-perpetrator Bruce Maxwell. So, ya know, the market is not exactly flooded with talent. And it’s not like the Royals are going to compete even if they sign one of those guys.For my money, I’d like to see them have a competition among the minor league guys and give one of them a big league payday for a season. M.J. Melendez probably needs to stay in the minors to be the best he can be and Meibrys Viloria is in a similar position despite his September call-up last season. But Nick Dini played some at AAA and didn’t look especially overwhelmed there last year. I’d be quite happy to see the Royals give him a shot. Xavier Fernandez didn’t look too terrible in AA last year, either. Most of the catchers are still young enough that they could turn into something and it wouldn’t exactly be surprising. Dini, though, is already 25 and while that’s not old it does make it noticeably less likely he’ll ever be a big-time prospect, now. I’d probably rather see him get paid something this year just in case he never gets another shot.Lineup nonsenseMax had an article the other day about who should lead off Jake Smolinski Jersey , Adalberto Mondesi or Whit Merrifield when Ned raised the possibility that the speedy Mondesi might usurp the role from the veteran Merrifield. The reasoning seems to go, “Leadoff home runs are cool and Whit is more experienced at putting the ball in play in a way that advances runners. But, ya know, Whit was pretty good there last year so we’ll see.”This isn’t hard for me, though. I want Whit in that leadoff spot. For one thing, if Mondesi is never on base, Whit won’t have anyone to advance. Also, two-run home runs are more fun than solo shots. In addition to that there is a school of thought that Whit could protect Mondesi in the lineupbut theoretically whoever is batting third should also be able to protect Adalberto while, as Max pointed out, having a speedy runner on base might allow him to see more fastballs and his biggest flaw as a player appears to be his inability to identify pitches.Max also pointed out that in some lineup construction plans your best hitter should bat second in the lineup to maximize appearances but still allow for runners on base. Whit was the Royals’ best hitter last year but Mondesi has the most potential. Why play it safe when you’re probably going to lose 90+ games anyway? Might as well take some chances.