E-Mail This Article to a Friend Uncertainty reigns in MLB’s final week By Christopher Young

It has been quite a few moons since Major League Baseball headed into its final week of play with five division races — along with both wild-card berths — still up for grabs. But that’s what Bud and his buds in the executive offices have, with only the NL Central (which the Cardinals clinched over a week ago) definitively settled.

There are six or seven more games before it’s all resolved, so let’s break down the individual races and see which teams have the inside track to the post-season.

AL East: For a while there, it looked like the East runner-up might not make the playoffs despite nailing down 95-plus wins; now, depending on Cleveland’s week ahead, both the Red Sox and Yankees could indeed qualify. With identical 91-64 records heading into Monday’s action, the two rivals seem to be on a collision course for a division-deciding showdown in the Fens this weekend. En route to the finish line, the Yankees will play all seven of their games on the road (Baltimore/4, Boston/3), while the Sox will enjoy Fenway’s friendly confines the rest of the way (Toronto/4, NYY/3). Although the home field (where they’re an MLB-best 50-24) supposedly gives Boston an edge over the New Yorkers, the Yanks are playing a dead-men-walking team in Baltimore, while the Sox face a Toronto team that has already won nine of its 14 games against them. If Boston can emerge relatively unscathed, come the weekend its veteran arms — Wells, Schilling, and Wakefield — should propel the Sox to their first divisional title since 1995.

AL Central: Chicago managed to stave off the Indians’ charge over the weekend, and so the White Sox maintain a two-and-a-half-game lead with seven left (at Detroit/4, at Cleveland/3). Like the East combatants, the ChiSox and Tribe finish up against each other, with the winner likely taking the Central crown while the runner-up — assuming it doesn’t get swept — is in position to snare the wild-card spot. For a while it looked like the Injuns would actually erase Chicago’s 15-game deficit. But as long as the Pale Hose take care of business in Detroit against a 69-86 Tiger team, the weekend hoo-hah in Cleveland could become academic — and only require one White Sox victory to clinch the division. The Indians, with a half-game wild-card lead and all six of their remaining contests at home, can probably hold off the East runner-up as long as they take at least two of three against Tampa this week.

AL West: Oakland has no choice but to sweep the Angels at home the next four nights if it has any hopes of winning the West. By losing two of three at home to Texas over the weekend, the A’s are four back with seven to play (LAA/4, at Seattle/3). The Halos clinch the division with a split in Oakland, and then can set up their playoff rotation worry-free as they finish up in Texas.

Likely in: Boston, Chicago, Anaheim, and (wild-card) Cleveland.

NL East: Looks like the Braves have locked up the division for the 14th-straight year, so the real dogfight remains for the wild-card berth. In getting swept in Atlanta over the weekend and losing five of six overall, the disappointing Marlins will again stay home come playoff time in lieu of the Phillies (84-72) or Astros (85-71). Philly hosts the fourth-place Mets for three and then visits DC to tackle the last-place (!) Nationals in hopes of earning its first post-season berth since 1993. Yet despite their spots in the division, the Mets and Nats are both hovering around .500, and neither is expected to roll over in their remaining games.

NL Central: As noted, the Cardinals are in cruise control, but that same situation a year ago didn’t guarantee them a cakewalk to the pennant. Meanwhile, the Astros, who lead the wild card by a game, have two more contests with the lame-duck Redbirds before the Cubbies come to town for four that will determine the wild-card entrant. Chicago has disappointed again this season, albeit for good reason (injuries), and how much fight they’ll have left in Houston (despite having won seven of 12 this season head-to-head) is tough to gauge. Even more challenging: Roy Oswalt, Andy Pettitte, and Roger Clemens are slated to pitch over the weekend.

NL West: Disgraceful. The second-place Giants are 73-82 and still haven’t been eliminated from the playoff race. That’s because the first-place Padres are 77-78, and only lead the West by four games. Make no mistake: San Diego will get to the post-season, but perhaps with an unprecedented sub-.500 record that may end up being worse than that of the last-place team in the East. The Cardinals, as you may expect, are licking their chops in anticipation and may even field their second-stringers in the opening-round playoff match-up.

Likely in: Atlanta, St. Louis, San Diego, and (wild-card) Houston.

Sporting Eye runs Mondays and Fridays at BostonPhoenix.com, and Christopher Young can be reached at cyoung[a]phx.com.